Spit it out
by Tomomi-Chu
Summary: Eren is born mute and has always taken comfort and guidance from his loving mother. He's clumsy, skittish and easily frustrated. But how does he let out the words? Through the way of violin. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! Pairing: Ereri Riren Do not own cover image
1. Different

**Spit it out**

* * *

 **Ch. 1: Different**

* * *

Eren Jaeger was born unable to speak. He's always had his mother to 'talk' to, and teach him how to cope with being unable to speak. Now she's gone, and Eren has been a mess. He's clumsy, skittish and easily frustrated. But he does have a way of voicing himself; through the way of violin. One golden day at his local restaurant, he runs into a cold and brash man who also lives the life of a musician. Eren wants to break the man's walls and truly know the real him. The only problem is how he can possibly communicate with the man if he can't see him.

 **Mute!Eren X Blind!Levi**

* * *

Eren moved his little fingers into different shapes, shakily and slowly. He adjusted his large red scarf that was wrapped around his neck. Tears welled up in his mother's eyes, but they weren't from sadness. They were from overwhelming joy. The four year old had a determined look on his chubby face, staring at his digits. He frowned, not remembering the last formation. Suddenly, it clicked to his mind and he created the last letter.

 **[Hello]**

Eren's mother, Carla, busted into tears and lunged to her son. It was a beautiful sight. Her baby was finally voicing himself. There was finally a way to truly communicate with him besides using block letters or body gestures. The doctor nodded and wrote down a few notes on his clipboard. He adjusted his glasses.

"Yes, he has improved dramatically since our last meeting." He said with a grin. Just a week ago, he had brought the distraught family a basic book on Sign Language. It wasn't complex. It only had about 26 pages with big bold letters. In later sessions, he will bring out a more complicated and more in debt book on the language. For now, Eren could form a full word and go through the full alphabet. He turned to Carla with a serious expression. "Don't push him too hard. Let him go at reasonable pace."

The woman wiped a tear from her eye and pulled away. "Oh, Eren has been teaching himself. I walked in on him the other day reading this book front to back, and he was practicing with his hands." Eren scrunched his nose at his mother. He didn't understand some of the words that she was saying.

"That's just great!" The doctor laughed, putting his clipboard away. Eren relaxed his face. The man was laughing, so it must've been something funny. He wondered what _his_ laugh would sound like if he could laugh. The therapist stood up and adjusted his tie. "Keep at it and he'll master this in no time! And don't forget to practice up yourself, Mrs. Jaeger."

"Oh, I sure will. You've been a great help to us doctor." She shook the man's hand. She truly felt grateful. When her son was born with his condition, it was like ripping a privilege from her. She would never experience what other parents would. She would never experience that heart tingling moment when Eren would utter the words, "Mama" "Papa" or even "I love you".

Oh, and _God forbid_ when he would have to go to school. How would he make friends? What will the other kids think? Will they treat him like a freak for being different? These are the questions that have been lingering in the mother's heart ever since he had been born. He would be starting school soon. The therapist had already gone over what to do when that happens; to be nothing but supportive, to always be in touch with teachers, to always communicate with her son. She wanted nothing but the best for her son.

But the worst thing? The pitiful glances she would get from other parents. She could see it in their eyes. They felt bad for Eren; they thought he was born with a burden. He was disabled. _Handicapped._ God, she hated that word. Her son wasn't handicapped. He was just different! So what? He couldn't talk, that doesn't make him special. He was just a little _different._

When the man left, she walked over to her son and gave him a tight hug. She was so happy, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. Eren pushed against her out of embarrassment, but he truly felt the same. He wanted to make those noises that everyone else could. He had long learnt the words, "Mama" and "Papa". He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Why wouldn't anything come out? He listened to his parents talk and often bicker. How do they make those noises come out their mouth? Why couldn't he make those noises? His sister, Mikasa, could talk, though she usually kept to herself. But still, she could speak. Why couldn't he?

After a minute, he gave up trying to resist and hugged his mother back. He felt his smaller body being picked up and carried into the other room, where his father was. He looked up from his phone and stared at the two of them before giving an annoyed grumble.

"Let the boy walk for himself." He ordered. The mother gave a small glare to the man.

"I want to carry my son, dear." There they go again. Eren listened in, intrigued by the noises the adults made. The tone was odd. It was a general phrase, but it was said... weirdly. Eren didn't know how to describe it. His underdeveloped brain didn't know how to describe it. What were the words he was looking for?

"You're babying him." Father said back. Eren furrowed his brows, trying to decipher his dad's tone.

"I'm just doing my job, unlike you." She walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Eren frowned. He didn't like when his parents spoke like that. With... anger? With... sadness? He didn't know what to call it, but it definitely wasn't hate. Parents were supposed to love each other, they can't hate each other.

 _Momma._

He opened his mouth and tried to make some sort of noise. Carla turned to him, mouth ajar. She watched him struggle. Nothing came out, and that annoyed the boy. Why couldn't he make a noise?!

 _Momma and Da-da love?_

He cocked his head at his mother, who was just staring at him with sad eyes. Watching her son try to speak was almost insulting. Her son shouldn't have to struggle like this. He deserved batter. She felt a tear well up in her eye, but she didn't try to wipe it. She just stared into her son's gorgeous green eyes. His eyes certainly popped. It was a perfect mixture between blue and green to create this sort of Teel and turquoise color. His skin was a lively tan, and his hair was brown and as soft as a feather. She could tell that he would grow up to be an attractive man, and…

Her breath hitched.

She was more than certain that his voice would've been nice as well. Carla knew Eren more than he would ever know. She could feel what he was feeling. It didn't matter how far away he was, or just how good he is at hiding his emotions. She always knew. It was her job as his mother to know.

 _Momma, cry?_

She blinked back the tear and wiped it from her eye. Somehow, he also knew what she was feeling as well.

"Yes, dear. Momma's crying." She answered. She then heard tiny footsteps behind her and saw her daughter, Mikasa. She stood there will a blank face, not looking at her mother, but at Eren. Carla smiled and put the boy down. Mikasa walked over and took his little hand, tugging it slightly. Eren raised a brow in confusion. The little girl tugged his hand, prompting him to follow. They entered Mikasa's room and she pointed to an object laying on the bed.

Eren walked over and picked it up, eyes squinting at the sight. It was her little fluffy hat she's had ever since the orphanage. She always had it with her, supposedly in memory of her parents who were assassinated not too long ago. But Eren didn't know that; he just thought it was a stupid hat she just carried around. This stupid hat, however, had a large rip going through the top of it.

 _The hat…_

Eren looked around the room before his eyes fell on their black and white puppy that was cowering in the corner of the room. Her name was Titan. It was a name that his father picked, saying that he once saw it in a book called, "Attack on Titan". The brunette walked over to Titan and waved a finger in her face.

 _Bad doggie!_

He looked back at Mikasa who was staring at him with sad eyes. He was confused. What did she want? She looked dead into his eyes and opened her mouth, to create that noise that Eren couldn't make.

"Fix it, please." She said in a soft voice. Eren looked back at the hat. Fix it? How? Maybe if he brought it to Mom, she could fix it. He left the room and walked to Carla. He tugged at her dress and she turned to him, eyes widening at the object in his hands.

"Oh no…" She took the hat and examined it. She looked at the seam and sighed. "I don't think I can fix this… poor Mikasa, she loved this hat…" Eren looked down at his feet. He shuffled his little sneakers, and he saw the brightness of his red scarf. Something clicked in his mind and he suddenly took off to Mikasa's room. When he ran into the room, Titan ran in front of him and he tripped over her, falling on his stomach. Titan yelped and scurried out the room, while Carla came rushing in for her son. Eren shook his head and stood up on his own. He had a small scratch on his knee, but he didn't care. He was more focused on his sister. She was standing there, staring at the ground. He walked over to her and waved a hand to get her attention. She looked up and sighed at the sight of no hat. Tears welled up in her eyes. Eren frowned. He hated seeing people cry, especially Mikasa.

He took his scarf off his neck and began wrapping it around her head. Literally, only her eye were exposed while the rest of her head was covered in red. Carla stood by the doorway and watched with a smile. It honestly surprised her just how sweet her son could be. Try hard, but sweet nonetheless. Mikasa felt the scarf around her head, feeling the fresh heat that was still there from Eren. She inhaled his scent of nature and life. She felt safe in the scarf, and Eren saw that.

 _It's warm, isn't it?_

Carla made that scarf for her son a year ago. She wanted to make sure he had something to always remind him of her, to let him know that she was always there.

A couple years later, Eren learned how to deal with school. He was incredibly awkward with other kids. Whenever they tried to talk to them, he would bring out a notebook and begin writing to them. Soon after, though, they would just leave him alone. Of course, years of practicing Sign non-stop has made him incredibly skillful at the language. The teachers were a pain in his butt, but he survived. Learning how to write was the worst, but he liked how it didn't involve calculating, like stupid math.

Eren was 9 at this time. He was walking to class one day when he ran into group of older kids terrorizing another kid. The kid had bright blonde hair to his ears, and he was carrying a stack of books. The bullies slapped the books out of his hands and shoved him against the wall. Eren didn't like that. It wasn't cool to pick on someone below you.

He ran at them and pushed them off the blonde. He jumped on top of the older ones and began punching and attacking them. His punches were nothing but pokes to older kids. They kicked off Eren and decided to gang up on him. He had never been beaten before. It felt overwhelming and tedious. He thought the hits would never stop until a teacher came rushing over to take away the bullies.

Eren was taken to the infirmary, and the nurse had already called up his mother. She was going to worry like crazy, but there was nothing Eren could do about that. Who showed up, much to his surprise, was not his mother, but the blonde he saved. He shyly walked up to Eren's bed and timidly pulled up a seat.

"T-thank you so much... for saving me." He gave a weak smile. Eren grinned back at him, giving a thumbs up. "Um... if there's... anything I can do...?" Eren shook his head furiously. He didn't want the boy to think he owed him anything. The blue eyed boy stared at his feet for a moment before looking back up.

"Hey, what's your name?" Uh oh. Eren searched around for paper, but couldn't find on sheet, nor a pen. He looked back at the shy one before sighing. He had to give it a try. He slowly rose up a hand and began making signs. He couldn't do Sign at lightning speed like his mother, but he could still 'speak' it.

 **[Do you understand me?]**

The blonde sat still for a moment, staring at his fingers.

 **[Yes, I do.]**

He signed back. He actually signed back! The only one else who knew how to sign was his mother and the therapist. Eren couldn't help the smile that came to his face.

 **[My name is Eren Jaeger. What's yours?]**

The other boy took a moment to decipher that.

 **[I am Armin Arlert. You can't talk?]**

 **[No. How do you know Sign? You can speak.]**

Armin smiled, pulling out one of his books. It was thick and on the cover it said, "The history of sign".

 **[I wanted to learn. I always thought this was a cool language]**

 **[That's awesome! You're the only one I know who can do this!]**

 **[You are as well. No one else is really interesting in learning other things]**

 _Other things? Like what?_

 **[What other things?]**

 **[Things like... other languages. Other cultures. I want to learn more about other places. I want to explore when I grow up.]**

Eren thought for a moment. He never thought about exploring before. He'd be too scared to. It's a big world out there, with more customs and a whole lot of things to know. Where would he even start?

 **[That's cool. I don't know what I want to be...]**

 **[Well, is there anything you're good at? Art?]**

 **[Hah, nope. Anything that involves pencils just looks like chicken scratch.]**

 **[Singing?]**

 **[Very funny.]**

 **[Um. Cooking?]**

 **[Not in a million years.]**

Armin thought for a moment before something clicked.

 **[Ooh! What about music?]**

Eren lifted his head at the question. He loved music. He always had a pair of headphones in when he left for school, and his teachers always got on his back for listening in the middle of class. What's not to love about music? It's amazing to hear the power and emotion that comes from instruments. It was far more beautiful than any sound a person could make on their own.

 **[I love music. But I can't play anything.]**

 **[Hmm... maybe you can ask your parents to teach you.]**

Eren laid back down and stared at the ceiling. Definitely a possibility. He wondered what he could play. He liked all instruments, but his least favorite were the really loud and brash ones like the trumpet, or the drums. He preferred soothing things; like the flute, the piano or...

Ding.

The violin.

A few minutes later, his mother came barging in with his father, frantically looking for Eren. When she saw him, she shoved the nurse out of the way and tackled Eren in a tight squeeze. He almost choked, his mother was crushing him. His father came over and crossed his arms. Eren gulped. Looks like he was going to get a lecture.

He got his bag and was about to leave, but not before saying goodbye to Armin first.

 **[Bye, Eren. Take care.]**

 **[See you, Armin]**

The two had become best friends since that day. Eren and Armin would always sit by each other at lunch and just sign each other. He told Armin about being mute and the struggles that he's had to go through, while the other just told Eren about his anxiety and troubles at home. Eren's parents even allowed him to come over regularly.

Unfortunately, Armin's grandfather was another story. Not only would he not allow Eren to come over, he ignored his grandson. Armin had to take care of himself most of the time, which he could easily do since he was so smart. It wasn't that his grandfather hated him, it's just that he was getting old. Armin's parents had died fighting in a war, and his grandmother had recently passed away. He just wanted to rest. Armin knew this, and he decided to not pester his guardian. He constantly came over to Eren's in order to get away from the situation, which was perfectly understandable. But all the studying in the world couldn't help him when his grandfather just left him. Just like that. One night, he just passed away in his sleep. Gone for good.

Carla and Grisha took it upon themselves to invite Armin into the family. Well, mostly Carla. Grisha didn't seem to care one way or another, and only complained about money problems. The Jaeger family was not the most financially well endowed, and having another mouth to feed was definitely going to be a big blow to them. But Grisha agreed to work harder for money, and Carla found herself a part time job at a store to bring home some money. It was challenging, but they did it.

It was just the five of them. Carla, Grisha, Eren, Mikasa and Armin. One big happy family. They went to school together, learned how to Sign together, and became the closest of friends. More than friends even; a family. When Eren turned 12, Carla bought him a Violin for his birthday. He had always wanted one, ever since that day he met Armin. He even promised his mom that he would practice each day to learn how to use it. Grisha thought it was stupid. He thought his son would be more interested in sports, and if not that, law enforcement. Music was something he thought Mikasa would be into, but it was quite the opposite. _She_ was the one who was into sports. When she entered high school, she played on the basketball team. Armin was definitely the book worm of the group. He was so interested on the world around him, he was constantly bringing home books from the library about other countries.

But it stood out to him that Eren was into music. He couldn't even sing along with his music because of his disability. And what brought him to pick the violin? It was the most depressing of instruments, and not to mention complicated. Grisha didn't understand his son at all; he didn't understand any of his 'children'.

Despite this, they were a family. A close one. They looked out for each other, and most of all, looked out for Eren. Carla made a promise to herself and Eren that she would protect and watch over him. To always protect him from what life was ready to throw at him. She was going to be his voice, and he was going to be her life.

Until one day, it all just happened to change. It couldn't have stayed perfect. They had to change. One dark day in the Jaeger family, and one major shift in structure.

* * *

 **Present**

Eren shifted uncomfortably in his chair, glancing around at the other customers. He was sitting at a diner alone, waiting for his friends to come over. He was texting Sasha, a young brunette who used to go to his high school. She was _supposed_ to meet him there along with a couple other close friends, Connie and Marco. _However,_ it seemed that _someone_ had gotten off on the wrong road and _accidently_ stopped off at a completely _different_ diner.

Only Sasha would get so greedy for food to actually have two full fledge dinners in one night. He prayed Connie and Marco would still have room left in their stomach by the time they arrive. At least they were almost finished so they would soon be at the diner.

The trio didn't know a lick of Sign Language, so Eren usually communicated through text or notepad. It was a little annoying, but it was do-able. As long as he was able to get his message across, someway, _somehow,_ he would be fine. Of course, life seems to like taking away every way he had to speak to others.

Eren glanced around, letting his fingers trace the top of the table. His hand twitched; he was anxious. He wish he weren't here right now. People were staring at him, mostly because he was sitting at a table built for 4. He flipped his hoodie above his head and sunk in his seat. His eyes roamed the room, stopping at the figure of a woman heading in his direction. She came over with an overly cheerful grin and a notepad. The brunette sat up and waited for her to reach him.

"Good evening, sir!" She chirped. Eren smiled nervously at her, turning in his seat. "What would you like to order for tonight?" Now it was time for the big question. Eren shakily raised his right hand and began signing.

 **[Do you understand me?]**

A look of confusion flushed over her face and Eren sadly dropped his arm. He pulled out his handy-dandy phone and typed a message on his screen.

 **Eren:** {I will order in a few minutes. My friends will join me shortly.}

The lady smiled and nodded, walking off to take another order. Eren smiled. He was so grateful that he had his phone. Before Armin moved away to another country, he bought Eren a brand new phone. It was one of the newer ones, with voice recognition and everything. He treasured it because it was the only source of instant contact that he had with his brother.

He shifted again in discomfort. He really needed to relieve himself. He stood up abruptly, prompting him to slam his knee under the table. He cursed under his breath, rubbing his kneecap. He shook it off and continued walking,. He walked over to the restrooms, eyes still glued to his phone screen. He stopped right by the doors.

 **Eren to Sasha:** {Sasha, where in the hell are you right now?}

 **Sasha to Eren:** {Chill oooouuutttt! I'm pulling up right now! :D}

 _FINALLY. Jeez, I'm starving while she's stuffing her face. They're probably eating in the car as well._

Eren smiled and stared at his phone. He glanced off to the windows of the building, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of them. He couldn't wait to see Marco pitifully wobble in with an oversized stomach, while Connie and Sasha waltz in ready to tear the place up. He was so focused on his little fantasy, he didn't hear the talking that occurred behind the bathroom door. Just as he turned his head, BAM! He fell back to the ground, dropping his phone in the progress.

 _Shit!_

He felt blood drip down his nose and onto his chin. He never understood just why he was so clumsy. He always found himself getting in the most pointless of accidents. He lifted his head and pinched his nose. He could tell that the whole restaurant was silent, and some employees were rushing his way. He was startled when a sudden hand was being reached out in front of him by a local. He looked at the man who was reaching out to him; he had dark hair and pale skin, and he had a permanent scowl on his face. Eren was on the floor, but he could definitely tell that he was on the short side. He had sharp, dark gray eyes that looked like they could see right through anything. He looked menacing, and dangerous. He hadn't realized that he was just sitting there gawking at the man until a low growl came from him.

"Are you taking my hand or not?" He scowled. Eren blinked at him.

 _No need to be so rude; it's not like you're the one who was bleeding._

Reluctantly, he took the man's hand and gulped when noticed how strong the other grabbed him. Eren jumped at how roughly the man pulled him to his feet. He noticed something was odd about this stranger though. He wasn't looking directly at him; more like, looking in his direction. It was like he was just a ghost, and this man was looking straight through him. That's when he noticed a white cane perched in his right hand and his eyes widened.

 _He… this man… is blind!_

"You should really watch what's going on in front of you. People with normal vision should treasure being able to see your surroundings." Fear washed over Eren. He instinctively raised his hand to try to sign, but then it hit him. _He's blind._ He tried to point to his mouth to indicate that he couldn't reply, but then it hit him again. _He's blind._ He had no idea what to do, and he could see the man getting impatient.

"Alright, fine, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you aren't careful enough to look in front of you." The man snapped. His voice was like a deep baritone, and paired with his face, he looked like a scary individual. Screw it, he _is_ a scary individual. Eren sadly let his shoulders slump. This is why he hated being alone; in case this shit happened, someone was able to clear the air. After another moment of forced silence, a scowl drawled from his mouth.

"Fine. Be that way, asshole. I don't care. I said I was sorry." He grumbled, turning away. Eren felt terrible and tried to grab the man's wrist, but the people around him kept trying to tilt his head up as they wiped the blood from his face. Luckily, nothing was broken.

"Eren!" A woman's voice called from across the diner. Eren and the stranger turned and saw that it was, no surprise here, Sasha, Marco and Connie. Eren glanced at the ground at his phone to see if he could use it. There was a large crack going down the middle. That was fine. Just a crack. There was a high possibility that it still work. Eren bent down to try and grab when, _oh so suddenly_ , a large black shoe came stomping on it. Just one step was all it took before Eren heard the deadly sound of a crack and he watched as the screen flicked to black. The man pulled back his foot once he heard the sound.

"Ah, shit." He cursed. Eren stared at the ground. What was he supposed to do now? Now, no one would be able to hear him. The man squinted his eyes, staying silent for a moment. "Was that a… phone?"

 _Why does everything hate me today!?_

The brunette hung his head, ignoring his friends as they rushed over. Sasha saw his expression and touched his shoulder. She hated it when he was sad, he had award-winning puppy dog eyes—ones that would make the sternest of people crumble.

"It's fine Eren. You can explain when we get our food. But are you okay?" He nodded to her question, but then sadly glanced to the blind man in front of him. Sasha turned to him and saw that he was blind immediately.

"Ah! And who are you sir?" She happily greeted. The man didn't flinch. He kept up that cruel stare, particularly towards Eren. The dark stare sent shivers up his spine, and although the man was shorter than him, his demeanor towered over him. The stranger was looking past Eren, but he still felt like adverting his gaze to his feet. It was a bad habit.

"My name is Levi. I'm trying to be nice, but 'Eren' doesn't seem to have the decency to accept that it was an accident." This man, Levi, grumbled. Eren shoved his hands in his pocket and back away. He didn't know what to do. Sasha saw him struggle and glanced at her friends for answers. Marco stepped up, with his stupid grin that could brighten up anyone's day.

"I'm sorry about all this, Levi. Our friend, Eren, is mute. He can't talk to you." He explained. The brunette pressed his lips together and pouted. He hated not being able to speak for himself. He wasn't a baby.

Levi remained silent for a moment before turning back to Eren's direction. "Oh."

 _That's all you have to say?!_

"Is he hurt?" Yes. Yes he was. And so was his poor phone. Sasha, Connie and Marco stared at Eren before turning to Levi with big grins.

"Nah." They all said in unison. Eren just about keeled over. Did they not see his currently bleeding nose? "Eren's accident prone, so he's used to this shit." Connie chuckled. Levi gave half a chuckle as a reply. Sasha suddenly gasped when her eyes caught the sight of a broken object on the ground.

"Oh, shoot!" She snatched the phone and brought it up. Pieces of the screen fell off as she lifted it. She frantically pressed the screen and buttons, trying her hardest to get it to work. It was useless. "Damn. His phone broke."

Levi frowned, feeling his asshole-o-meter raise a little bit too high for his comfort. How was he supposed to know that the phone was on the ground?

Marco gave a sad smile. "I guess it's back to pen and paper, hehe..." Connie dug into his pocket, searching for anything to write on. He finally pulled out a crumpled up receipt, and with a cocky smile, gave it to Eren. He held the paper with a deadpanned expression. This is what he's been brought down to.

 _Great. Now what am I supposed to tell Mikasa? What about Armin, he paid for that shit! Oh my freaking... why does everything happen to me?!_ He angrily crumpled up the sheet of paper and threw it at Connie's face.

"H-hey! Don't be mad at me!" He exclaimed, instinctively striking a karate pose. Eren stomped away from the group and back to the table, but not without protest from the worker who was caring for him. He didn't care, his nose had long stopped bleeding.

"Eren, stop being such a drama queen!" Sasha whined, chasing after him. She called out, "You're worse than when Annie's on her period!" Her voice echoed throughout the food joint, and laughter filled the area. Levi raised a brow. Was he really that mad over a phone accident?

"What's wrong with the brat?" He asked whoever. He didn't know which guy was which, but they seemed to be friends with the 'drama queen'.

Connie turned and explained. "Eren uses his phone to talk to us since we don't know how to sign. He's not that good at writing, so, you know the deal. He's kind of got a temper, but Sasha's like his best friend, so they're cool." He gave a grin and a thumbs up, but he forgot that he couldn't see it. Marco slapped Connie's hand down, frowning at him. Levi felt guilt struck him, and he listened for Sasha's voice in order to find Eren. He wanted to give a proper apology. Marco saw that look and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about the phone, it's not your fault. His siblings will just get him another one." He reassured. Levi still listened for Eren and that girl. It didn't feel right to be let off like that. What if someone would've broken his cane? He would've demanded that his walking stick would be repaired immediately. Despite that, Eren hadn't even shown a hint of anger towards him, or at least from what he could tell from that.

Connie looked back at Eren and Sasha. "We should get back to them before they start wreaking havoc. Maybe we'll see each other around?" Levi stared straight off into space before shrugging. He walked off to his empty table. Marco and Connie returned to Eren, who was writing to Sasha on a napkin.

|They have a special at the other place? What the hell man!|

"Sorry, bud. Maybe we can go next Friday!" She giggled to herself, almost drooling in anticipation. Eren kept his pout, making it clear as day that he was not amused with the circumstances. He hated having to write things out; and on napkins, no less.

"What are we talking about here?" Connie asked with a smirk as he pulled up a seat. Marco took a seat next to him.

"You know, about the amazing food we just had. Man that was great! Can't wait to see what we're having here!" She snatched a menu and began scanning. Marco gave a weak smile.

"I don't know how you guys can eat so much. You guys at like 4 plates." He chuckled. Connie laughed and hit his chest in pride.

"You just need to gain that bottomless stomach, like us!" He laughed. Sasha suddenly twitched. Her nose picked up something heading in their direction.

Subject: Breadstick

Objective: Breadstick

Obstacle: Waitress

Connie, Marco and Eren had to hold Sasha back from pouncing on the innocent employee as she brought the appetizers. She awkwardly took their orders and went to get their drinks. Once she was gone, Sasha pounced for the basket of bread. Where did the sticks go? Nobody knows? But Connie managed to jump in with the craziness of a wild Sasha to try and obtain at least one stick. Marco and Eren stood by the table with right hands to their hearts and left behind their backs. He was a good soldier.

Soon enough, their food and drinks were brought over, along with another couple baskets of bread. This time, Sasha was a little tamer, save the drooling and sweet talk to the food. Unfortunately, Connie may never be the same again.

Where did Sasha have room for another full plate of Pizza, fries, and a basket of wings? Nobody knows. Let's just be thankful they didn't have potatoes on the menu. They didn't call her 'potato girl' for nothing. Eren chowed down on his food, making sure to keep an eye out for Sasha's sticky fingers.

"Ereeeeeen." She wined in an insanely loud voice. "C'mon, just one more breadstick. Please!" She begged, even leaving her chair and getting on her knees, clutching his arm. Eren didn't have to tell her no. He held the bread up to her face, and she smiled. He then retracted his hand and ate the bread right in her face, making her mouth drop.

"How could you..." She sulked, returning to her seat. Everyone was looking at her, but that was okay. Everyone paid attention to Sasha. She was just so... weird. Connie was sipping on his Cola when he suddenly noticed a pair of eyes in their direction. He tapped Eren's hand.

"Don't look now, but that man from before is totally staring at you." Connie whispered. Eren blinked before spinning in his seat, staring directly at Levi. "What did I just say?!" The brunette scribbled something on the napkin, almost ripping it.

|He cant see so it dont matter.|

"Oh, yeah." Connie mentally slapped himself for forgetting. He decided to ignore Eren's terrible punctuation and grammar for the time being.

|He's probably just spacing out. If he was staring at anything, it would be Sasha and her crazy self.|

"HEY! MY FRY!" Sasha gasped before pouncing on Eren, knocking him out of the chair. He could care less about the surrounding customers now; he was more focused on the psychotic potato lover that was trying to attack him. Marco still stared at Levi though, noticing how he would occasionally squint and cock his head. It was as if… he was trying to find Eren out of all this. Marco frowned. Blind and mute; terrible combination. He stood up and made his way to Levi, pulling up a seat at his lonely table. Levi raised a brow.

"Who are you?" He asked in a low voice, but Marco wasn't fazed.

"I'm Marco." He smiled, knowing that he couldn't see it. "Pardon my asking, but would you like to speak with Eren? I can get him for you." Levi didn't bat and eye before sipping from his cup in a totally not obviously wrong way, but Marco didn't question it. He was blind, so maybe that's just how he hold cups. Levi set down his drink and gave a sigh.

"I just wanted to properly apologize for what I did. I acted like an asshole back there." Another sip. "But he can't talk back, so what's the point." He muttered. Marco thought for a minute before getting an idea.

"Ooh! I know! Do you know Sign Language?" He suggested with a little too-much-happy in his voice.  
"If not, you can just write each other!" Levi stared blankly at him before slowly bringing a hand up in front of his eyes and waving it up and down. Marco took a moment before his eyes widened.

"Oh, crap! I'm sorry. I… forgot." He gulped. Levi shook his head. He refrained from calling this man a dumbass, since he seemed nice enough. Marco put a hand on his chin before standing up. "Well, I can make sure he gets the memo. Don't worry about a thing. Eren doesn't hold grudges!" Levi raised a brow. This brat wouldn't hold a grudge against a man who destroyed his phone and called him an asshole? He must be quite the doormat.

"Thanks." He said. Marco stood and headed back to the group. Levi pulled out his phone and began texting one of his college-mates. He still felt wrong for being let off so easily. It hung on his shoulders. Normally he wouldn't give a shit what happens with others, especially if it was an accident. But this one stuck with him. Perhaps it was because the boy was also disabled? Maybe, maybe not. Levi tried to pull his mind from the other man, but he couldn't. Something felt off about Eren. Something…

A little different.


	2. Introduction

**Spit It out**

* * *

 **Ch. 2- Introduction**

* * *

 **6:35 P.M**

A day passed and Marco and Eren went back to their dorm rooms. They both had two separate beds and the room was just enough to care for the two of them. Eren had been sulking for most of the time. Mostly because he dreaded his sister finding about the stupid phone. To take his mind off the situation, he decided to play his violin. It always managed to ease his mind.

Eren let his eyes shut as he brought the base of the instrument up to his Adams Apple, letting his arm move instinctively to his own beat. He let his features relax; his brain faded into the rhythm. The first swing, he let a deep drawl escape the strings of the violin. He pulled in, fading the deep voice into a high pitched cry. A sudden jerk, he stopped the cry. A few seconds later, he pushed out and brought out a wavy moan, bringing it back into a high whimper. The music filled their dorm room, bouncing off the walls the sound of an eerie wail.

Marco purposely turned up the volume of his laptop, blaring his loud music and making Eren stop his playing. He gave the freckled one a confused glance before the other gazed back at him. He turned the volume back down and smiled.

"If you're going to play, can't you play something more cheerful?" He suggested. In reply, Eren swiped the strings of the instrument to give a short, high pitched screech, making Marco cringe. "I-I guess not…"

 _Don't interrupt me again._

Eren stared at him for a moment before reassuming position. Once again, Marco shot the volume up full blast with a childish grin. A pillow came hurtling in his direction, nailing him right in the face. Eren clamped his hands on his ears. Did Marco forget that he had amplified hearing? He was already mute, he didn't want to become deaf as well!

Marco turned the computer back down and sat next to his friend. "Lighten up Eren. We'll get you another phone. We've already told Armin about the whole thing." Eren snapped his head over before sticking out a finger to his nightstand. On it, stood a picture of his sister, Mikasa. Marco scratched his head and gave a chuckle. "We're going to call her… eventually."

Mikasa was a scary woman. She had a sports scholarship. Not just one sport, mind you. Damn near _everything._ Have you even seen her abs. She was top in the weight lifting team back in high school, and if she had the chance, she would've been quarter back on the boy's football team. She was not someone you wanted to piss off. If she learned that Eren's phone had been destroyed, she'd kill whoever did it. Accident or not. She lived in an apartment in a city not too far from theirs, so she wouldn't hesitate to rush down to her 'baby brother' if need be.

Eren shook his head before putting up his violin in its case. He stood up and threw on his oversized jacket. Marco raised a brow.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Eren didn't 'answer', prompting Marco to jump to his feet. "I'll go with you then." He ran over to throw on some shoes when Eren grabbed his shoulder. He squeezed it firmly; in his own way, he said ' _It's fine. I can take care of myself.'_

Marco didn't like leaving Eren by himself without any means of speaking. He's known him ever since his first year of high school, and it's hard to not grow protected of the little spitfire. He always tried to do things he know he couldn't do, and had a hard time accepting help from others. This was especially bad, since he _needed_ help from others.

"Ah… okay. Are you sure?" He asked once more. Eren gave a simple thumbs up before exiting the room, leaving Marco to his own business. Marco then sighed and eyed his phone lying on the bed. Time to jump in the boxing ring.

He picked up his phone and reluctantly dialed Mikasa's number. He shakily put the phone up to his ear and waited for the ringing to stop. _Ring…. Ring…. Ring…. Ring…_ Perhaps she wasn't there at the moment-

"MARCO!" A voice exclaimed on the other side of the phone. He flinched, retracting the cell from his ear. But Mikasa's voice blared from the speakers. "Where's Eren?! He didn't text me at all yesterday nor today! Did he get hurt?! Where is he?! Do I need to come down there?! MARCO?!"

"Mikasa, calm down!" He tried to stop her. He could hear light panting on the other side of the phone. This is what he was afraid of. "Eren's just fine. Nothing happened." He could faintly hear a sigh of relief come from the other side of the call, before a sudden growl.

"Tell him to text me right now! I need to have a word with him!" She ordered. Marco gulped at the seriousness of her voice. He wondered how Eren could live with such a scary woman.

"Let me just explain what happened." He said, nervously smiling. "Eren's phone broke on accident. That's why he wasn't able to contact you." A silence came over the phone.

"Who the hell did it?" She asked in a low tone. Marco sweated. "Eren never lets that thing out of his sight. There's no way he broke it 'on accident'. Someone else did it!"

"W-w-well! Erm…!" He sputtered. "I-I mean, this man at this diner accidently stepped on it." He could hear the violent intake of air from Mikasa. "B-but it was an accident! The man was blind and couldn't tell-"

"I couldn't give a rat's ass what the reason was! That man messed with my brother! Let Eren use your phone, damn it!" Her words shook the dorm room, and Marco was a fumbling mess. He naturally held the phone out to give to Eren, when he remembered…

Eren left 5 minutes ago.

"A-Ah… he's not here right now." He whimpered. He knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"What?"

"He left a couple minutes ago…" Another pause.

"With friends?" She pushed on.

"N-no… he went on his own…" He waited for her reply, keeping the cell at a distance to protect his ear. When the silence held for too long, he brought it back and listened in for the worried sister. "Um… Mika-"

"HOW COULD YOU LET HIM LEAVE ON HIS OWN?" Her voice sounded boldly. Marco frowned. He knew that Eren could take care of himself, even without his phone. But to Mikasa, it was a whole new story. To her, Eren was her baby. Her responsibility. Practically her life. The only one to bring out such a protective and bold side, besides Eren, was Armin, and he lives in another country.

"Listen, Mikasa. He knows what he's doing. I've been with him since high schoo-"

"And I've been with him since he was four! I know what he can and can't do!" She argued back. Marco didn't know what to say. Mikasa was an independent woman- scratch that. A stubborn and thick-headed, independent woman. Once something starts her, she never lets up. For anything.

"…"

"… I'm sorry, alright?" She sighed over the phone. Marco eased up. "I know I shouldn't talk to you that way. You know how I get."

Marco smiled sweetly, falling back on the comfort of his bed. "It's fine. It's good to care about your brother. He needs it more than anybody." He scratched the back of his head.

"But you're his roommate. You practically live with him. I'm sure I can trust you with him by now." Marco could hear the sound of things fumbling on the other side. "Just make sure to have him text me when he gets back, okay?"

"Don't worry. It'll be the first thing I say to him." He reassured. Mikasa chuckled lightly.

"Thanks. I gotta go. Team's callin' me." She hung up the phone right there and Marco let out a giant sigh of relief. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. Why was Sasha the one to tell Armin? Why was he the one who had to tell Mikasa? Why?

Marco jumped when a knock sounded at the door. He sprinted up, thinking it was Eren, and swung the door open.

"There you are, Eren-!" He stopped himself when he found himself face to face with Jean, a good 'friend'. He stared at Marco with an annoyed expression.

"Don't get me confused with that stupid illiterate german." He sneered. He let himself in, not even giving Marco a chance to say anything. He sweated and followed the man in. Jean made himself at home and jumped on Eren's bed.

"U-uh! Eren's gonna be back soon! You should-"

"You think I care?" He closed his eyes and kicked his feet up on the bed. Marco nervously smiled. Sure, _he_ might not care what Eren thinks, but he wasn't the one rooming with him in the first place! Nor was he going to be the target of the many pillows that Eren was going to pelt at him because he let Jean on his bed…!

"Okay then…" He sighed in defeat. He shrugged and sat himself on his bed.

Marco and Eren met their first year of high school in the cafeteria. It was no surprise to anyone that Marco played for the other team. He never took an interest in any girls; probably never even had a girlfriend in his life. Of course, leave it to Marco to gain a stupid crush on the number one asshole in school. Jean Kirschtein.

Marco was originally only Armin's friend, but Eren couldn't let this once in a lifetime chance slip through his fingers. How could he pass up a chance to get Jean off his ass? He couldn't and wouldn't. He helped Marco for selfish reasons, but he also did it for his friend's sake. It wasn't a big deal to the mute, but to Marco it was. They stayed good friends throughout high school and Marco was there to give good support to Eren.

That's why, when Jean is over here doing spit takes with Eren's drinks and messing up his bed, he gets a little nervous. Of course, he knows better than anybody that trying to Jean is like trying to move a brick wall. He just hoped that he would be gone before Eren got back.

"Can't you at least try and not mess up his stuff?" Marco asked. Jean raised a brow and scrunched his face.

"What is he? A princess?" He joked, but obliged. He set down the drink and laid down on the bed. He peaked one eye open to glance at Marco, who was worriedly looking at the door. A mischievous smirk came to the man's face and he sat up. "So when is he coming back?"

"I, uh, don't know. I think he'll be back soon..." Marco mused to himself, a hand drawing up to his chin. He wondered where he could've gone when Jean had tapped his leg with his foot to get his attention.

"Well, while the idiot's gone..." He trailed off, patting a seat next to him suggestively. Marco blushed but he obliged, walking over and sitting on Eren's bed. Jean leaned over and kissed Marco on the lips, nibbling and biting to tease him. Marco giggled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, deepening the kiss. Jean pushed Marco down onto his back and continued to kiss him. He parted their lips as he feathered kisses from his lips to his jaw line to his neck. Marco felt it tickle and he laughed lightly, wrapping his legs around his waist. Jean pulled away and sat up, straddling Marco. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of condoms, smirking down at his boyfriend. Marco's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"U-Um! Not on his bed!" He protested, unable to shake the weight off him. Jean leaned down and pressed their chests together, pulling him back into a kiss. Marco closed his eyes and melted into the touches. Jean's hands went under his shirt and he hoped that Eren would come back late.

* * *

 **7:05 P.M**

Eren let himself into the apartment with a spare key. If there was one place that he could go to play his violin in peace, it would have to be Erwin's apartment. Erwin Smith; a bulky, reasonable man with a stern face that screams 'leader'. He's wealthy and very well-kept, obviously knowing his way when it comes to the real world. He was a smart and resourceful man, and Eren was lucky to be friends with him.

Eren was more social than Mikasa and Armin could ever know. His skills with his instrument has brought the attention of many others willing to take him under their wing, but he's never officially accepted. He always had thought that taking his skills to a professional level will eliminate the point of what he was trying to do; that it will become more about the money and less about the feeling. And then, of course, Armin would kill him if he flunked college because of this.

He stepped inside and closed the door. He hoped the man wouldn't mind him barging in, but he noticed that he wasn't in the apartment. Eren second guessed the idea of staying, since it was now considered 'breaking and entering'. After a minute, he decided against it. He faintly recalled the man once saying, "Me casa es su casa." He didn't know if it was a good idea to take that so literally, but he didn't care.

He noticed that right by the wall, a piano was set up with music sheets and everything. He always thought that the piano was interesting, but he never had the time to ever learn how to use it. He returned to a chair in the middle of the room. He gave a warm up swing of his bow to make sure it was in tune, and set his jaw on the chin rest. He knew many songs. He liked to play whatever he thought sounded good, but sometimes a little inspiration was needed. He had many favorite pieces, such as Tartini: Devil's Trill, Vivaldi's Winter, etc.

He took a second to ponder just what song he wanted to play. He had no idea what his mood was right now. Frustration? No. Sadness? No… Apathy?

 _Whatever it is, it's not happy._

Just one loud bang at the door was enough to make Eren jump, resulting in objects falling and chairs flipping over. A tall man cringed behind the door and swung it open, looking for the cause of the commotion.

He stared at a distraught Eren. He was on the floor, not even making an attempt to try and pull himself to his feet. He simply gave up and spread his arms on the floor, welcoming the ceiling to his line of view. Erwin raised a brow and decided not to question the other man's antics.

Eren met Erwin when he moved to this country to start college with Marco. It was almost like fate; He was simply tuning his violin one day as he was sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for Marco to pull up with his car so they could head out. Erwin just happened to be walking by that day, and normally the man would've simply ignored someone like Eren; sitting on the streets, most likely broke, an obvious look of annoyance that said, 'I am angry about everything and anything, so don't try an cheer me up'.

But this child was different. The kid tuned with his ears, letting the violin speak for itself and moving with it, not against it. Deep in concentration, listening for even the slightest tweak or noise that was out of the ordinary. When he found the right pitch, he played from the heart. And the music? It sounded absolutely gorgeous. For such an angry-looking person to produce a noise so calm and breathe-taking, it's no wonder why there happened to be a small crowd of people around him. They didn't have the audacity to throw mere coins at him; some simply left a couple bills right by him.

Erwin had stepped up to him in silence, making sure not to interrupt. He waited until Eren's mouth twitch up in a smile, giving a small grunt in content when he was happy with the tune he heard. He opened his eyes and his expression turned to pure horror when he saw the group of people who were giving their small applause. He scrambled to his feet, almost dropping his bow and case, and backed away from them. It didn't take long before the crowd left in a hurry, heading back to whatever job or errand they were completing. Erwin was the only one who stayed, and it made Eren a little nervous.

"Don't mind me, I was just wondering where you learned to do that." He had reassured. Eren eased up and set his things down. He turned back to him, giving him a small smile and a shrug. He didn't learn it from anywhere. It just sort of… happened.

"What's your name?" Erwin asked. The younger one paled and he searched his pockets for his phone. Erwin frowned, finding it rude that he would bring it out when he was trying to start a conversation. He was surprised when Eren shoved a message in his face.

|Eren Jaeger. What's yours?|

Erwin read the screen and crossed his arms. He assumed that he couldn't speak; that or he just had a weird way of communicating. "I am Erwin Smith." He answered, He reached out hand and Eren took it immediately.

That happened about a year ago. The boy was full of energy and determination. He was the type of person to make sure that whatever he set out to do, he'd see it through to the very end. That was what Erwin liked about him, and he was ashamed when Eren told him that he was still on the fence about production. Each day he wasn't in a studio, was another day of wasted potential. However, education came first.

"Eren." Erwin spoke as he faced down at the man. Eren lazily turned his head, making it pretty obvious that he was annoyed with the man. Who in the _Hell_ knocks so loud? He didn't know how he was planning to talk to him without his phone, but screw it. He needed to be here.

"You chose a bad time. This room is occupied." Eren rolled of his back and stood up, not attempting to brush the dust off himself. He gave a deep frown and crossed his arms. Erwin walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "No sulking. Someone's coming over to try out the piano." Eren waved him off. He didn't want to wait to play. If he has to, he'll sit his ass outside and play. Screw whatever Erwin has to say.

He sorted through his fallen objects and pitifully returned his violin back to its home. He was seriously surprised that it was still intact from all the times that he had dropped it. He began to take his leave when someone had already twisted the door knob. The door swung open, and a certain familiar face stared him through. Eren's eyes widened as he backed up; it was the same man from yesterday! He was wearing something more formal than what he wore at the diner. He wore a black vest with a white dress shirt underneath. He had on black slacks, which _somehow_ made him look even shorter.

 _It's him! From the restaurant! What was his name again…?_

The man cocked his head and squinted his eyes, as if that would help him understand what was in front of him. He bore that same apathetic expression on his face. He raised his hand slowly, catching the others attention, before giving a firm punch to his shoulder. Eren stumbled back and gripped his arm, wincing in pain.

 _Why did he hit me?!_

"Not Erwin." He muttered coldly. Erwin came up from behind Eren and leaned down to his side.

"Sorry about the rudeness. Levi doesn't exactly have the best social skills on the planet." He said in a hushed voice. Levi. That was his name. Eren turned back to find a scowling man glaring in the direction of Erwin.

"I can still hear you, _sir_." He pushed past Eren and walked over to the large piano that was set up. Eren furrowed his brow, disliking Levi even more by the minute. Erwin turned and patted Eren's shoulder to grab his attention.

"Levi, if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself to a good friend of mine…" He trailed off. Eren's eyes widened. Why did everyone forget that he was mute? Though it's true, they didn't exactly have a 'proper' greeting the day before.

Levi gave an annoyed sigh before turning in the direction of them. He held his hand out, not even all the way, and tapped his foot waiting. It took Eren a second to realize that he was waiting on him and he stumbled over to him and shook his hand. He flinched at how strong the older man's grip was, getting sudden reminders of the day before.

"I'm Levi. _Pleasure_ to meet you." He sounded uninterested and bored, and Eren wasn't surprised. He didn't seem to be the type of person who would like to meet new people. They dropped their hands, waiting in an awkward silence. Eren turned to Erwin, sporting a look that said, 'Okay, what do I do now?'

Erwin came over, seeing the problem, and spoke, "This young man is Eren Jaeger. Sadly, he is mute so he can't respond." Eren saw Levi's face change from annoyed to surprise to amused, all in the span of 5 seconds.

"Ah. The brat." He frowned. Eren narrowed his eyes at the nickname. Levi raised a finger and jabbed it at Eren, poking him harshly on the chest. "Run into any doors lately, dumbass?" Eren flashed a face of confusion before replaying through the events of the day before. He slapped Levi's hand away and glared.

It only happened once…

… that week…

"Do you two know each other already?" Erwin asked. Eren tried not to hold a grudge for the accident, but it was _really hard_ to do that when Levi was being a prick. He turned to Erwin and shook his head. He didn't know Levi at all, so why even bother.

Levi adverted his gaze back to the piano, and felt his way to the chair. Erwin stood not too far behind him. He quickly glanced at Eren and said, "Now that I think about it; why don't you stay and listen? I don't think you've ever heard him before." The brunette thought for a minute and gave a lazy shrug. He had nothing else to do, and he really didn't want to have to sit out in the cold. Erwin raised a brow.

"Why aren't you using your phone?" He asked, noticing his lack of 'words'. Eren shot a quick glance at Levi before crossing his arms. He shrugged again, making Erwin sigh. "Fine. Have it your way." It was silent for a moment as Levi prepared to play.

"So…" Erwin began, wanting to converse. "You doing well in school?" Bad subject. Eren frowned and looked down at his feet. "Eren. Look at me." His green eyes met the older man's.

 _You know I'm bad at school._

"I don't want you failing. You promised me that you'd pick up your grades." He said in a serious tone. "If that violin is distracting you from your classes, then maybe I have to confiscat-" Eren suddenly gripped the man's sleeve, catching his attention. His face showed pure fear and he violently shook his head.

 _No… please don't take it away from me! I-I… I can't just…_

Erwin turned to him and put his hands on his shoulders to calm him down. He could see just how terrified he was from just looking into his eyes. At the very corner of Eren's eye, you could see the slightest tear forming.

 _I can't let it go…! It's the only thing… I have left… from…_

"Eren, I'm sorry." Erwin said, softening his voice a little. "I don't have the right to tell you what to do. If you want to keep your instrument, then go ahead." He had to bend down slightly to reach the younger's height. Eren's expression turned from petrified to slightly aggravated, and he pushed Erwin off him. Talking to Eren was like walking on ice. You don't know what wrong step will break the surface. Be careful, you wouldn't want to fall in. That water can be damn cold.

"If you two are done cuddling, I'd like to play now." Levi growled, catching both of them off guard. Erwin shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Impatient as always." He muttered. "Let's not forget who pulled you off the streets." Levi scowled and turned his back to the two men. Eren leaned against the wall and listened in.

 _So… he's from the streets. I guess that explains why he's an asshole._

"So, let's see here…" Erwin brought a sheet up to his face. "Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven." He read aloud. Levi nodded, recognizing the song. Eren furrowed his brow. He wondered how he could play. Did he memorize the notes after they had been read aloud, or did he just play by ear?

Levi turned to the piano and closed his eyes. He let his hands scan the keys, searching for the right keys with his touch. His expression turned from irritation to suddenly calm. By complete memory, he began to play, putting every ounce of his concentration into each of his fingertips. His hands glided across the keys, making sure to press down lightly at certain parts of the song and harshly at other parts. He felt like he was in his own world; away from the bullshit the actual world contained, and in his own little space. He was lost in the void of his own music.

The ominous tone of the beginning brought a forewarning to Eren's thoughts. He had heard this song before. Yes, it wasn't anything new. Beethoven was a classic tool for inspiration, and most of all, musical talent. He hadn't heard this piece in forever, though, and he had forgotten just how emotional the song was; just how mysterious the music was; what was the message it was trying to get across?

Erwin and Eren stayed quiet as he played silently. Every now and again, Levi would add his own little touch to the song, such as adding a few deeper notes. Whatever emotion he was feeling, he conveyed it into his work.

While Erwin listened to him play, he noticed something odd about his version of the music. Around the middle of Moonlight, there originally was this sort of happy drabble that lifted the spirits from the otherwise emotional song. Levi had skipped that part entirely. He jumped straight to the more anxious and fast part of the music. Erwin refrained himself from giving a groan. Why did he always meet the most depressing of musicians?

 _Wow…_

Eren gaped in awe once he finished. Erwin chuckled slightly and turned to him.

"He's good right?" Eren nodded dumbly. He had heard many of Erwin's men and women play, but nothing like that. "Yeah, it's crazy to think that someone as rude, brash and careless as him can play like that." He joked. Levi growled and slammed his fingers harshly into the lower keys, making a large ' _DUN'._

"I'm still here, dumbass." He informed. Erwin flinched, he forgot about the man. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Eren glanced at the clock and cringed at the time. 8: 15. Marco didn't really care how late he stayed out. It's just he just didn't expect for time to go by so fast. Where did that hour go? Levi didn't play for that long, that or he just had taken much more time than needed trying to get to this apartment. Then again, Erwin's place is a 30 minute walk from the dorms. Erwin glanced at the clock as well.

"You should probably be heading back now, kid." He said. Levi came over, following the sound of his voice. Eren flinched when he came over. He didn't want to admit it, but Levi frightened him.

"Oi." He said to Erwin. "Do you produce for him or some shit like that?" Levi hadn't heard anything of this 'Eren' from Erwin. When he was talking to him, he sounded like he was familiar with him. Usually, Erwin tells him about everyone he works with.

"Ah, no." He answered. He shot a glance at Eren. "He wants to finish college before he starts doing anything big." Levi raised an eyebrow, unamused.

"Whoop-dee-fucking-doo for him then." He spat and shoved Eren out of his way. If Eren could talk, you wouldn't believe the words he would say about him. He had only known him for about 30 minutes and he had already grown to hate him. Why would _anyone_ be so damn-?

A roar from the sky and a crash of lightning shot the thoughts right from his head. He glanced out the window and internally cursed. Rain. Freaking rain. He should've known. Erwin looked outside and frowned.

"Yup, that just about does it for you." He said under his breath. "I guess I'll drive you back to your dorm then." Eren wanted to shake his head, but it was pointless. He needed help. He couldn't walk back all by himself, and he couldn't call a taxi because—thanks to the blind pianist—he didn't have anything to speak with.

Levi fell back on the couch and glared at the wall.

"I'm not going anywhere with that brat." He hissed. Eren narrowed his eyes.

 _Same to you, you bastard._

"You're going to have to suck it up because I'm not leaving you here alone with no assistance." Erwin said, looking over to the emotionless man. An exaggerated groan clawed its way out of Levi's mouth. "Stop being such a baby. It'll only take about 20 minutes to get there."

"I just endured a 30 minute drive of nothing but your damn annoying old school music playing. I don't want to have to deal with a brat and that at the same time." Levi went on. Eren couldn't take it anymore and he stepped closer to Levi, getting ready to get up in his face. Levi could sense movement coming toward him and naturally stood up to defend himself. Erwin quickly jumped in between them, specifically whispering Eren a lecture as to why "beating up people" is not a solution to all his problems.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, pushing both the men away from each other. "Just 20 minutes. 20 damn minutes. Can you two ignore each other for 20 fucking minutes?" He asked desperately. He had no idea where this all came from. Just a moment ago, Eren was aweing over how good Levi was with music, and now he was silently throwing a fit.

Levi scoffed and crossed his arms. "Whatever, _sir_." He felt his way over to the door and leaned against it, even tapping his foot for good measure. Eren still wanted to wipe that stupid sass off his face, but Erwin was holding him back by the arms.

And he still didn't get to play his damn instrument!


	3. Therapy won't fix everything

**Spit it Out**

* * *

 **Ch. 3- Therapy won't fix everything**

* * *

 **10 years ago**

 _BAM! BANG! THUMP!_ Perhaps it was the doors opening and closing forcefully.

Eren, Mikasa and Armin had their ears up against the door. The 11 year olds listened silently as they heard the house rumble. Eren felt his heart in his throat, while Armin was questioning whether his heart had stopped or not. Mikasa listened closely, trying hard to focus on what the parents were screaming about. Carla and Grisha were at each other's throats. This was not one of their everyday fights. This was personal.

 _CRASH!_ It was probably a cup. Worst case scenario, a mirror.

Armin squeaked when he heard the glass shatter, tearing up in anxiety. He backed away from the door and began to hyperventilate, letting out harsh gasps of air. Eren quickly turned him around and wrapped his arms so tight around him, he swore to never let go. In these type of stressful situation, Eren and Mikasa were the only ones to calm him down.

They heard some more glass shatter, along with some more screaming.

"E-Eren…!" Armin choked out, shoving his head into the crook of his neck. Eren simply patted his back. Mikasa kept herself standing firmly in front of them. Eyes held up front and eyebrows furrowed; she was set like a knight protecting the kingdom. She silently made a promise to herself, ever since Carla adopted her, that she would protect the family through anything. Physically and mentally. She wouldn't allow it anything to happen to the family.

"Why are Mom and Dad fighting, Eren?!" Armin sobbed into his shirt. Eren sadly looked down and shook his head.

 _I… I don't know Armin._

Armin's muffled cries echoed through Eren's mind. He didn't care for what his parents were doing. That was Mikasa's job. His main focus was keeping Armin at bay. Eren lightly tugged Armin over and had him sit on the bed. He lifted his hand and trailed his fingers through his blonde hair, fixing the ruffled mess. Armin still whined and sobbed slightly. Eren put both hands on his cheeks and wiped the tears away, being mindful not to poke his eyes. Armin couldn't hold it anymore and tackled Eren into a suffocating hug. They fell off the bed and onto the floor with a small thud.

 _It's going to be okay. Don't worry, it's going to be okay. Everything's okay._

Eren kept reassuring himself. Everything was okay. This was just a little bump; a small hurdle, an obstacle. Their family has been through worse. They can get through this—they always get through this.

 _It's all going to be okay. Just you wait, Armin… it has to be…_

A child's innocence is something that should be cherished. That long night ended in lost innocence; something that can never be returned. Armin learned that life is not always fair. He learned that even if you follow the rules to the nail, even if you treat everyone with respect, even if you beg and plead for mercy, life is not always fair.

Armin lost his innocence just like Grisha and Carla lost their marriage that night. Mikasa lost her innocence when her parents were killed that day. But… there was still one child that clung on to his purity. He held on for dear life. Through all the fights, aggressive calls and empty drive ways, he held on. Unfortunately, life just happened to pry Eren's fingers from his innocence once and for all.

* * *

 **Present**

 _THUNK! THUNK!_

Eren snapped out of his memories when he felt someone stomp the back of his seat. He glanced back and saw Levi, with the most pissed off expression. Somehow, this man has learned how to make Apathy an art form.

"Move your seat up." He growls. Eren frowns and reluctantly twisted one of the car buttons, moving his seat up. "Thanks, you little shit." He sealed the appreciation with one last good kick to the back of his seat. You'd think if he had enough room to kick him, he had enough room to be happy with. But no, that would be too decent. Erwin sighed loudly, obviously annoyed by the two of them. Little did the man know, Eren was dealing with a boatload of childhood emotions; why did he suddenly remember the divorce? He had long put those thoughts to rest, any thoughts that involved his parent were put down. He forced himself to forget that day…when his mother… when Carla…

 _No… don't think about that now…_

Eren slumped in his seat and formed a frown on his face. This wasn't a memory he liked to look back on, and he was NOT ready to start dealing with it. He crossed his arms and looked out the window, watching as cars passed them. He sat in the passenger's seat while Erwin drove them. Levi sat in the back, directly behind Eren. Erwin glanced at the time and saw that it was a quarter till 9:00. He glanced at Eren out of the corner of his eye.

"Why come down here so late?" He asked after some silence. "Why couldn't you have waited until tomorrow?" Eren shrugged and leaned his head against the window. He watched the flickering lights pass by in silence. Rain hit the window and lightning plagued the sky. Peaceful silence washed through the car, the constant humming over the road making Eren's eyelids fall.

That is, until Levi decided to kick his feet up on his chair and startle him. He turned and looked back at him, but he didn't say anything. He turned to Erwin and tugged at his sleeve. He looked at him and pointed to Levi, as if to say 'deal with this'.

"Levi, get your feet off his chair." Erwin looked at the front mirror and straight to Levi. With an annoyed scowl, he skidded his feet off the chair. He lightly kicked his the back of the chair to grab his attention.

 _If he doesn't stop kicking my chair._

"Oi, brat."

 _What could he POSSIBLY want now? To move my chair up? To jump out a window? To pat my head and rub my stomach at the same damn ti-_

"Do you hate me?" A simple question. But it came out of nowhere, and it left Eren confused. Did he hate him? What kind of question was that? Why would he hate him? He… Eren didn't hate anyone…

Okay… so, he hated himself more than anything, but…

He would never hate anyone. He didn't even hate his piece of shit father. As for the phone incident, yes, it was very inconvenient. But the boy could live without it for a while. It's not like he can't just write everything down, or simply use his computer to message. An accident's an accident, what's done is done. So…

 _No. I can't resent you for something you didn't mean to do… The question is, do you hate me? I wouldn't be surprised. If it wasn't for Mikasa and Armin… or even Marco, I doubt I'd have any friends like Sasha or Connie. Then again, would I even be friends with Mikasa if we weren't related? If Armin's grandpa didn't pass away, would we be as close as we are now?_

Eren didn't realize that he had completely derailed from the original question. Erwin saw that, he could see clearly from the corner of his eye. He doubt Levi noticed, but Erwin did. Try as the boy might, nothing slips passed Erwin. Though it wasn't hard. The boy was just staring off into space. He reached over and tapped Eren's hand, snapping him out of his faze. Erwin saw the sadness in his eyes and squeezed his hand to make him feel better. Eren was almost like a son to him, it was hard to not feel protective of him. Though, he probably just had that effect on everyone.

Levi angrily kicked Eren's seat again, not liking the sudden silence at all. Eren flinched and sunk in his seat, hoping that his he sunk far enough he would disappear from the car.

"You're scaring him, Levi." Erwin sighed. There was nothing he could do for Levi. He just did whatever the hell he wanted, though he means well. Levi scoffed and kicked again.

"Do. You. Hate. Me." He asked through gritted teeth, kicking with each pause. Eren gulped before nervously shaking his head.

"He said no." Erwin spoke for him. Levi settled down and crossed his legs.

"Now, was that so fucking hard?" He muttered, leaning against the window. He sighed in frustration before reaching to his pocket. "I need a fag. Roll down a window." Eren's ears perked up his voice. Erwin frowned.

"No. You're not smoking in my car." He said, attempting to reach over and snatch the box from the man. Eren turned and saw the box. It wasn't his usual brand, but what the hell, he needed a cigarette. Maybe that would be the thing to take his mind off the whole 'family issues' and 'self-esteem' problem.

"Bite me." Levi growled, popping a stick in his mouth and leaning away from Erwin. He pulled out his lighter and carefully lighted his cigarette, being careful not to burn his mouth. He's made that mistake before. Being blind wasn't exactly the easiest thing to deal with.

Erwin couldn't drive and deal with him at the same time, so he simply rolled down a window in defeat. He saw Eren fidgeting slight in his seat, and he gave up.

"Give Eren one." He watched as Levi's eyebrows lifted in amusement, as if to say 'are you kidding me right now', but he pulled out a spare and Eren took it. He used his own spare lighter to light the cigarette. He took a drag and let out the smoke through his nose. Erwin coughed and rolled down the other windows. "You two are going to be the death of me."

Eren started smoking when he was 17. It wasn't anything big. He mostly got it from Annie, Armin's girlfriend. She just offered him one day and he took it. It took all of Armin and Eren's strength in order to hold Mikasa back from beating the shit out of her. It wasn't bad though. Eren knew better than to overdo it and get addicted. He never smoked more than once a day, and he made sure to not have the smell of smoke linger on his clothes.

He placed his arm on the door and hung his head out slightly. He didn't care if the rain would hit him. He glanced at his mirror and saw Levi sitting in the back. He was able to finally study the features of the man. He had his cigarette perched in his mouth, hanging to the side. His eyes were blank and blurry, probably some sort of symptom of the blindness. His mouth was pulled into a thin straight line across his face. His hair was jet black, but kept neatly. He had an undercut that would make Jean fall over and cave in.

His outfit was clean and polished to perfection, and he could see him twitch slightly when a drop of rain hit his sleeve. His skin was pale, but flawless. There wasn't one imperfection on his face of which he could see. Eren wasn't going to lie to himself; if it wasn't for the natural asshole-aura that was radiating off him, he was a pretty damn attractive man.

That was more than what he could say for himself. Eren had a round face with large golden eyes that he inherited from his mothers. He had tan, healthy skin and brown unkempt hair. He wore an oversize jacket with worn out jeans and messy sneakers. Yeah. He was something.

"Oi, Levi. Don't flick the ashes in here. Do it out the window." Erwin said after a moment, breaking Eren from his thoughts. Where else would he flick it? On the floor? Levi frowned to himself. He thought for a moment before a smirk came to his face. He reached his arm over and smugly held the cigarette over Eren's shoulder. Erwin saw that and his eyes widened. "Don't you dare-! " Flick! Eren squirmed at the feeling of the cinders hitting his skin and falling down his back. He saw the ash hit his jacket and dirty his clothes. He turned and glared at Levi, who returned to his normal emotionless expression. It was as if nothing happened.

 _This bastard likes to mess with me, eh? Well then, take this!_

Eren reached his hand to the side of the seat and pulled on one of the levers. The chair began to automatically scoot back, pushing against Levi's legs and leaving little to no room for movement. Eren smirked as he heard a distinct "tch!" come from behind him and Levi's feet shuffling. Levi leaned over and pulled on Eren's hoodie to hold him back. It wasn't hard to find his shoulder so that he could whisper in his ear. Scratch that. Not whisper, but through gritted teeth.

"Listen here, you piece shit-"

"Ah! We're here, Eren." Erwin interrupted innocently. Levi frowned and he reluctantly let the boy's hoodie go. The violinist nodded quickly and opened the door to leave. Before he could, Levi gave one last good kick to the back of his chair.

"Good riddance, brat." It was an insult, but Eren grinned. He felt like he won in some way, shape or form. Whether he did or not didn't matter. He felt like he won, and that was good enough.

* * *

 _Oh hell no. Oh. Hell. No._

It was that was going through Eren's mind when he stepped into the dorm room, only to witness such a horrid sight. His friend, Marco, and his arch nemesis, Jean, going at it, on HIS bed and in HIS dorm. He could deal with Marco inviting Jean over. He could deal with him being all couple-y and disgusting in the dorm. BUT, he could NOT deal with them fucking like rabbits, _on his fucking bed._ Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Not happening.

Eren stomped over and swung open the bathroom door. He didn't think twice before slamming it as loud as he could, practically breaking it off its hinges. He could hear the feint gasps of shock and confused mumbles between Jean and Marco. He ran his hand through his hair and nearly collapsed at the sink. He let out a large gulp of air and looked into his reflection. He was going to need therapy after this.

"Eren!" Marco called from behind the door, knocking a few times. "Eren, I'm sorry! You can come out now!" No. No it's too late for that. The damage has been done.

"Oi, you little shit!" He heard Jean sneer from behind the door. "We're fully dressed now!" You cannot repair the damage that has been done. Nothing in this world can ever be worse than the scene he had just witnessed. He didn't like Jean, and he certainly didn't like Jean without clothes and sprawled out on _his fucking dorm bed._ You know, the place he sleeps at night? Where he sometimes drool on? Where he puts his face on?

Dear God, what if they've done it before? Eren nearly puked.

Marco tried to turn the knob, but he made sure to lock it. He needed some center of piece. After about 10 minutes of doing some serious deep breathing exercises, Eren stood up and shakily opened the door. Marco was standing there with a red face, and Jean was laying on his bed playing on his phone. Oh, God, he didn't even want to look at Jean right now.

"Eren, I am so sorry." Marco apologized, trying to grab his shoulder. Eren flinched and jumped out the way of his touch. Nope. He didn't want to even LOOK at Marco right now. Every time he looks at his stupid freckled face, he can only see a flushed, tired and horny Marco sprawled on the damn bed. It sent a shiver through Eren's spine and he shook his head. Gross. He pushed past him and made his way to his laptop, throwing on his headphones and shutting out the other two. Jean decided to chime in, but that might not have been the best idea.

"Listen, Eren," He smirked, yanking off the other's headphones. Eren jumped up to grab them, but they were being held just out of his reach. "I know the image of me fucking Marco doesn't tickle your fancy." Eren nearly gagged. "But try to understand that we're only human and we have basic human needs." Eren clamped his hands over his ears.

 _LALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU, HORSE-FACE!_

"If you've ever had a girlfriend, maybe then you'd be able to understand." He snorted halfway through his sentence. It never failed to bring out a chuckle in anyone when they learned that the violinist had never been in a relationship before. Dating just never came to Eren. He never found the time to actually sit down and get really close to someone, which is a surprise to everyone, since high school was basically the dating pool.

That, and, he was in the closet. He was gay, and that might have been another small reason why he helped Marco back in high school. But it didn't matter if he was gay or straight or even both, he was never interested in anyone. You don't know how many time his father would question Eren on why he never brought any girls home, and the fact that he had no answer to give.

He wondered if anyone besides Armin knew he was gay. The blonde actually confronted him about it a few years back, just after he finished high school. It was a joke, more than anything, but Eren didn't deny it. It sure surprised the hell out of Armin. But why? It wasn't like Eren was going to running off with a rainbow shirt, singing to the stars above. He kept his things to himself.

Gay or not, he still didn't want to see Jean and Marco having sex!

"Jean, let him be… E-Eren…" He stopped Jean by the arm and looked at Eren. "We'll… uhh, clean your sheets, okay?" He flashed his signature smile, but Eren made a disgusted face.

 _No. Burn them._

* * *

The three siblings had their own private chat on Armin's website. Armin and Annie practically swim in money, so managing a website means nothing to them. Armin and Eren had been chatting for about 30 minutes. In that time, Eren had been trying to persuade to his brother that, yes, he had indeed seen what Hell looked like.

 ** _Armin Arlert: Come on, Eren. It can't be that bad._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Oh, yes it was. They were all over my bed, my sheets, my pillows. EVERYTHING. ._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Ah, I would prefer you not to go into detail. ^_^;_**

Eren back from the chat with a scowl on his face. Armin would never understand the image that had been burned into his brain. _Disgusting._

 ** _Armin Arlert: Anyway, I feel bad that you had to go through that._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Forget about it. How are you and Annie doing?_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Aside from nearly breaking my back during sex the other night, it's going great!_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: OH GOD! NOT YOU TOO! O_o_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Come on, Eren! You know Annie and I do it. Mikasa knows it, Jean knows it- Hell, I bet Sasha even knows it!_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: You still don't have to say it! Damn!_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: You'll understand when you decided to step into the dating pool._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Yeah right. Girls have cooties!_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Ah, but it isn't girls that you're going for, is it?_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: I'm not discriminating._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Boys have cooties too._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Just saying._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: The dating life is pretty good right now._**

Eren pulled back from the computer and rolled his eyes. Just because Armin had a hot blonde girlfriend, didn't mean that he could just rub it in his face all the time… fine maybe that is what it means.

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Why does everyone want me to get hooked up today? I'm obviously not the dating type of person._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: That's why we want you hooked up!_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: The last thing I want is for you to one day be living alone in a small apartment with cats._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Bring it on, bro. I'd take cute little furry balls of fun over a man any day._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: THIS IS WHY YOU NEED A BOYFRIEND._**

 ** _-Mikasa Ackerman joined the chat-_**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: EREN!_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Oh, hi, sis. -_-; Good timing._**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: THREE DAYS. THREE WHOLE DAYS._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: I'm here now, aren't I?! Jeez!_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: let him go, Mikasa. He's been having a rough few days._**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: I bet. Who's that fucker who broke your phone?!_**

Eren sweat dropped and hesitated while typing. He decided not to tell her about his new 'acquaintance'. The man was an ass, but no one on this planet deserved the wrath of Mikasa.

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Don't know, don't care. He was just some guy._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Exactly. So we shouldn't bust our humps over this. I'm already ordering you a new phone._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Thank you, brother. Thank you._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Hehe, don't mention it. Annie and I are flowing in money, so…_**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: You wouldn't have to waste your money if this asshole didn't destroy his phone._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: Drop it. What's done is done._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Please. I love you sis, but please let it go._**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: Hmph. You're too soft._**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: Whatever._**

Eren knew better. This wasn't going to be the end of this conversation.

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: Maybe I should come down there to make sure you're alright._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: NO. NO. NO. O_O_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: Where did this come from?!_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: ARMIN. HELP!_**

 ** _Armin Arlert: That's a great idea, Mikasa. That way, you wouldn't have to worry._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: ARMIN. BRO. STOP IT._**

Behind the damn computer, Eren could tell that Armin was smiling like an idiot. The damn traitor.

 ** _Eren Jaeger: WORK WITH ME. STOP IT._**

 ** _Mikasa Ackerman: That settles it then. I'll be there by the end of the week._**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: WHAT? NO._**

 ** _-Mikasa Ackerman left the chat-_**

 ** _Eren Jaeger: NO. NO. COME BACK. WAIT. MIKASA._**

 ** _Armin Arlert: I think you broke your caps lock._**

 _Buh-bye bro. I'm going to go drown myself because of you._

 ** _-Eren Jaeger left the chat-_**

Eren closed his computer and snuggled into his fresh blanket. He was laying on the hard floor. Yes. He actually refused to sleep in his bed. Even though Marco had changed his sheets and everything, he wouldn't return to his bed until it was quarantined. Jean had snuck back into his dorm not too long ago, and Marco had passed out on his bed. HIS bed. How come they couldn't fuck on HIS bed?

He simply rolled over and tried to get comfy on his new 'bed'. Marco insisted that they could share his bed, but he dealt with horse face enough as it is. Oh, how would he react if he knew he was gay? That would be a nightmare. He covered his face and rolled over, curling up against the wall and eventually falling asleep.

* * *

"Damn brat." Levi cursed as they re-entered the apartment. Erwin nervously laughed as he locked the door.

"In his defense, you weren't being too friendly yourself." He chimed in. Levi rolled his eyes and felt his way to the couch. "If you got to know him, you'd see he's not as bad as you think."

"Tch!" Levi crossed his arms and stared forward. "Anyone who acts that much like a brat is definitely that bad, _sir."_ Erwin sighed and went into the kitchen. There was no point in trying to argue with him. "Taking my cigarette and then giving me an attitude, who does he think he is…" Levi murmured under his breath, leaning back and resting himself into the comfy couch. He had a few minutes before he would play another song, so he was going to rest in peace.

"You know, I actually met Eren about a year ago…" Scratch that. Erwin insisted on continuing the conversation. "I saw him on the street playing his violin." He walked into the room with two cups of tea. He set both there cups down and saw Levi feel for the cup. He held it by the rim and brought it up to his mouth to drink.

"Uh-huh…" Levi pretended like he was really paying attention, when really, he was just enjoying this amazing tea he made.

"I was surprised to see a kid that young play so well, and he didn't even have a music sheet. He doesn't even have a tutor or some working professional. It's quite astounding." He explained. Levi took another swing of the tea before noticing the pause.

"Uh-huh…"

"Yup, so I learned that he's in college and that his grades aren't that grand." He went on.

"Yup." Levi made notes over the years on how to make it look like he's listening when he's really not.

"Luckily, he has his brother to tutor him, and he excels in academics."

"Does he now?"

"Yeah, and his sister is physically a genius. I heard that she made nearly all of the sports teams in her time in highschool."

"Really now?" Erwin frowned when he noticed the remarks. He leaned in.

"Levi?"

"Yes?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Nope." Erwin sighed and shook his head. "Sorry if I'm not interested in the biography of a brat I just met."

"Excuse me for wanting you to make more friends. I don't exactly like having you crash at my place every other week." He retorted. The pianist snorted as a reply. "What other good friends do you have? Hanji? Is that it?"

"I didn't know I had to be a social butterfly." Levi took another sip of his cup, setting it down once he finished. "I don't know if it ever entered that thick skull of yours, but I'm not really the friendliest person." Erwin sat back and unzipped his jacket. He just wanted Levi to be more social. Life is a lot easier with friends, and Levi made it clear that he had a pretty shitty outlook on life.

"Whatever makes you feel better, but if you're going to stay here and play for the next week or so, you'll be running into Eren more often. He does have a key to the apartment." Erwin held back a laugh when he saw Levi's face change from blank to anger.

"Well, fuck you too then." He scowled back. "Tell him to fuck off and come back another week."

"Can't. Even if I tell Eren that, he'd still head on down over here whenever he feels like it." It wasn't a lie. The boy never got the hint. He certainly took the whole 'Me casa es su casa' thing too seriously.

"You piece of shit." Levi growled before standing up and feeling his way to the piano. "I don't give a damn as long as he leaves me alone." Erwin smirked and shook his head. He knew this was going to be one hell of a week.


	4. SO IST ES IMMER

**Spit It Out**

* * *

 **Ch. 4- SO IST ES IMMER**

* * *

Eren spent the next couple days just trying to make it through the struggle of his classes. Camping out on the floor took some getting used to, so he ended up falling asleep for half the day. There goes a boatload of useful information that he's really going to need to pass his class. He made a mental note ask Armin for good ways to cheat in college without getting kicked out.

Marco had been picking his grades up with the help of Jean. Though he didn't look it, horse-face was actually quite intelligent. Marco once offered for all three of them to have a study session, but Jean and Eren couldn't keep their hands off each other's throats. So, of course, he was left with the short end of the stick.

He had been dreading Mikasa's return. He loved his sister to death, but she really pushed the scale when it came to maintaining personal space. Worst of all, she was a human lie detector. You think it would be hard to tell if a mute person was lying, but not to her. Eren once believed that she could read minds.

It was a Thursday afternoon, and Mikasa would be popping up on Sunday. That meant he had exactly 2 and ½ days of peace before he would be in the warzone. He wanted to spend his time at Erwin's but he wasn't excited about the odds of running into Levi again. Nice. One of the very few places he could stay at for some clarity and serenity was being contaminated with 2nd biggest douche on this planet. As much as he disliked Levi, the honorable title of "Number 1 Douche" belonged to Jean.

He was wavering between heading over to Erwin's and staying, when there was a knock at their door. Marco was lazily laying on his bed with his headphones in, blaring music into his ears. Eren was the one who answered the door this time. He opened it and, much to his chagrin, a certain horse face stood in his way.

Jean initially had a suggestive grin on his face, most likely because he was expecting Marco to answer. But as soon as he saw the musicians face, his flirtatious appeal turned sour really quick. Eren didn't look too different as he slammed the door in his face. He was still pissed at Jean for fucking his roommate on his bed, not apologizing once mind you, and furthermore for having the balls to come back for round two.

Marco pulled down his headphones and looked over to the door. "Erm, was someone at the door?" He asked, confusion written all over his face. Eren clicked his tongue and shook his head. Out of sight, out of mind. Marco was about to go back to his music when a series of frantic bangs and knocks sounded at the door. He made a deadpanned face at his roommate and Eren rolled his eyes, swinging open the door without a care.

"You little shit!" Jean growled as he grabbed the collar of Eren's shirt and lifted him off the ground. The brunette rolled his eyes, barely putting up a struggle. He knew Marco would stop him before he did anything serious. And much does happen; his roommate lunged off the bed and over to his boyfriend, pleading for him to drop Eren. Jean narrowed his eyes at the musician before dropping him roughly. He then turns and greets Marco with a kiss, a chaste kiss at that.

"Why do you have to live with this asshole?" Jean asked to Marco, not even trying to lower his voice. Eren narrowed his eyes before quickly spitting in the older man's eye. It took all of Marco's strength to hold back his boyfriend as he effortlessly swung at the younger one.

 _Why does he have to sleep with an asshole like you, ever thought of that?_

"You two need to call down!" Marco warned. "If you two can't play nice, I'm kicking you both out!" His voice was soft, but you could tell that he was trying to be stern by the way his voice was straining. It didn't work for Eren, but it certainly worked for Jean. It was quite amusing for the brunette to watch Jean's heated expression drop to sudden fear in a matter of seconds. He silently cursed under his breathe before turning around and wrapping his arms around Marco's waist. He had a blush form on his face and his mouth was a mixture of a scowl and a pout.

"I, um…" He started, side-glancing Eren to see if he was listening in. He leaned closer to Marco to whisper to him. "… I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again, I promise." As if Eren couldn't hear it. With his hyperactive hearing, nothing slips past his ears. Especially not a distressed Jean turning to mush over his boyfriend.

It was out of character for Jean to sincerely apologize for anything. He was stubborn, just like a horse. But just because Marco batted an eye at his aggression, that's enough for him to roll over and be a good dog? It was sickly sweet, and Eren assumed that's just how couple came to be; constantly changing people and bringing out different sides of personalities. Eren thought love was interesting… and disgusting. He watched first hand just how different Annie of all people acted around Armin, and that was enough to scar him for life.

 _Gross._

Jean pulled Marco even closer, bringing their faces closer to one another and almost managing a kiss. Marco narrowed his eyes but quickly succumbed to his boyfriend. It was hard to say no to the man when he was being as sweet as he was being right now. He leaned in and accepted the kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck.

 _Gross!_

Jean raised one of his hands up to the back of Marco's head. He ran his fingers through his hair and cocked his head to deepen the kiss. He went even further by taking a handful of his hair and yanking it down, tilting his head back. He slipped his tongue into the other's mouth, prompting Marco to give a rather disturbing and suggestive moan.

 _GROSS!_

Eren got sudden flashes back to the night he walked in on them, and decided that he made up his mind. He was going over to Erwin's. He didn't even care if Levi was there. ANYTHING was better than watching those two go at it. Eren rushed over and slipped on his oversize hoodie and some sneakers. He snatched his music case and energy drink as fast as he could. He was out of that door the second one of their shirts flew off.

* * *

He decided against taking the car, aside from his better judgement. Sure, it would save him some time, but he didn't want to take something of Marco's without asking first. And he wasn't about to rush back in there to ask him. Heaven forbid what he might see.

It was fine. He preferred walking anyway. It was a good way to clear his head, and he didn't have to worry about Marco throwing a fit about smoking in the car. Eren pulled out a smoke from his pocket and lighted it with his lighter. He took in a large drag, keeping it in for a couple seconds, and letting it out through his nose. He hated to admit it, but it felt good. Who knew something so small and useless could be so addicting? Well… just about everyone at this point.

He made his walk simple and fast, making sure to keep his free hands in his pocket and his head forward. There were thugs that hung around in downtown, and he's always had some sort of issue with them. It was nothing to worry over. Eren just knew that it would be in his best interest to keep his eyes and person to himself.

Not that it would matter. He was especially good with close combat fighting. After all, he was one of the only people able to go toe to toe with Annie in a match. Well, of course, you know, for only a minute or two before he ended up on his back defeated. He held no shame in that. Pretty much all of her opponents ended up flipped upside down in some sort of crazy position. It was just that damn kick of hers…

In 30 short minutes, he reached is destination. He took the elevator up to Erwin's room and stood in front of the door. He had the key in his hand and it was halfway through the lock when his ears picked up some noise coming from within the room. He pressed his ear up against it. It sounded… like the piano was playing…

 _Oh, perfect. He's here. At least I'll have Erwin to keep me company with this jackass._

Eren pulled out the key and gave a sigh. It was rude to just come barging in unannounced. Granted, just a few days prior he broke into the house when no one was there, but that was beside the point. He slowly raised his hand up, hesitating slightly, and knocked on the door. He heard the soft tune of the piano quickly come to a halt, followed by silence. Eren heard footsteps sound louder and louder the closer he got, when they came to a stop right by the door.

"Erwin." He stated. It wasn't even a question. More like, a general phrase tossed in the air. Eren bit his bottom lip and shook his head to himself. Wait a minute… he was calling out to Erwin?

The brunette could faintly hear the sound of the older man humming to himself, most likely thinking. "Hanji." That was a new name. Once again, the name lingered in the air before a low growl sounded from behind the wood. All of a sudden, the door swung open and Levi stood in place. Eren awkwardly tilted his head down, refraining his thoughts from mentioning the height difference.

"Eren." Levi now said, face obviously showing annoyance. Eren had no way to verify himself, so he just reached his hand over to the wall and gave two knocks. Levi nodded, as if understanding, and sidestepped from the doorway, leaving an open path to walk in. The brunette hesitated for a moment and then stumbled his way inside. Levi closed the door behind him and pressed his hand against the wall, letting it guide him to his original seat by the piano. Eren glanced around and stayed still by the door. He couldn't see the blonde anywhere.

 _Erwin… he isn't here. I thought… I thought he said that he didn't want Levi to stay here alone because of the blindness._

Levi noticed the lack of movement, and he assumed that the brat was expecting someone.

"You know, if you're looking for Erwin he's not here." Levi spoke, not bothering to turn towards Eren. He let his hands trace over the keys and he closed his eyes. "He'll be back in a few minutes. Though I doubt you're here for him, are you?" It was a rhetorical question. "No matter. Just don't disturb me while I'm here."

 _Aye-aye, captain. Jeez, does this man ever let up?_

Eren rolled his eyes and made his way over to the couch. He didn't know what Levi's definition of 'disturbing' was. He hoped that playing his instrument didn't count. He pulled out the violin and set up his things. He actually brought music sheets with him, since he needed to practice.

He brought the chinrest of the instrument up and the bow was ready, he flipped through one of the papers and pulled out a sheet of music. He read the top to himself; Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons… Summer. It definitely was a classic and no doubt old. It was good nonetheless, and really majestic. He had a soft spot for some of the old concerts.

He started off with the slow beginning of the song. It was odd how "Summer" was portrayed in the song. It was almost ominous, but at the same time beautiful. He closed his eyes, only occasionally opening them to scan the paper. Just as he was about to reach the fun part of the piece, he felt a pillow strike him in the face, stopping him immediately. He set down his violin and yanked the pillow off him, sending Levi a glare.

 _What do you want now?!_

Levi didn't bother turning to him as he spoke, "Three things; One, you sound like shit." _Oh, how sweet_.

"Two, that music is shit." _Much appreciated_.

"Three, I'm about to play, so shut the fuck up." Eren had half a mind to throw the pillow back at him, but he was stronger, meaner, and scarier than he'd care to admit. He angrily threw the pillow off to the side and crossed his arms. He pouted and slouched in the cushions. When will he ever get to play in piece?

Levi had his hands over the keys, just grazing them with his fingertips. He had an unsure look on this face. It was almost like he was debating something. After a moment, Levi nodded to himself and began to play. The song he played… was a song that Eren had never heard before. It started off with simple notes, but they had some sort of power behind them. Levi even hummed along with the music, as if that was the thing guiding him instead of a music sheet.

He took the chance to listen in on the music, wondering who composed it. It sounded absolutely beautiful. It wasn't extremely happy, but then again, it wasn't completely depressing. It had a somewhat bittersweet tune to it. As if the song was trying to portray something dark and unholy in the most beautiful of ways. It sounded…

 _Hopeful_.

Not even passed the beginning of the song, Eren had set aside his instrument to give this piece his full attention. Erwin was right. It was so hard to believe someone as brash and stoic as Levi could put so much emotion and care into his songs. It sounded cliché, but it honestly sounded like he really put in the extra effort to make sure he made every tune and drabble sounded correct.

The music almost… reminded him of the funeral. Eren bit his lip at the memory, wanting it to disappear. Unfortunately, as long as the song was playing, the memories would just keep flooding back. It was about 5 years ago, when they were all 16. He remembered standing there, right by her grave, watching with blank eyes. Armin was right next to him, tears just about flooding from his eyes. Mikasa was in front of them, saying her condolences.

She had three bouquets of flowers in her arms; one pack from Armin, another from Eren, and last one from her. She would then rest the flowers down in front of the grave. Eren remembered Armin's sobs so clearly, because that time was different. No matter how many times you would hug him, no matter what you said to him, he would never be eased of this pain. Not to mention, Eren didn't have the energy to do any of that. He just stood there, staring at the grave.

He kept telling himself that it couldn't be real. He kept thinking that it was some sort of stupid dream. Her death didn't happen, he didn't find her bloody body, and he didn't call the police. He didn't get a visit from his father, and he didn't watch him cry into his hands. He didn't testify in court and he didn't find the murderer. It just didn't happen.

But it did. And he knew it, and he hated that he knew it. He wanted to forget about it. He wanted to go back to normal, before everything went downhill. Unfortunately, you don't always get what you want.

He didn't even realize he was crying until he felt one of his tears drop from his chin and land on the back of his hand. He quickly wiped his face roughly, making sure to get every drop of his face. He hoped that he wasn't noticeable. He slowly turned to see if Levi noticed him.

His eyes widened when he glanced at his face. It wasn't calm or peaceful, like he was a few days ago. It was more… strained. He looked like he was in pain. Not physical, but mental pain. It was as if this song was surging up something terrible in the back of his mind. Eren couldn't help but feel an eerie tension in the room. He was starting to play more aggressive than he was supposed to. The notes that started off beautiful suddenly shifted to brash and harsh hits. Levi was practically clawing the piano.

Eren didn't know what to do. Should he leave the man to his personal business, or make him stop? It was obvious that this situation was causing him major discomfort. He paused for a minute, before heading over to the man. He stood behind him and watched as his face shifted from pain to anger. On one last final note, he slammed both his fingers down and gave a very awkward and forced sound.

Eren hesitated for a moment, confused on what to do. Then, an idea popped in his head. It was stupid, weird, and probably useless, but it was an idea nonetheless. He rested both his hands on Levi's shoulders, and set his chin on top of his head. Levi jumped at the touch, but surprisingly didn't push him away. Eren half expected him to turn around and punch him, but he was glad that he didn't.

He knew that this was a good way to ease someone. His mother used to do it to him when he was having one of his fits. She used to put both hands on the back of his shoulders and then rest her chin on top of him. Then they would just stand there in silence. Out of nowhere, she would begin to utter, "Breathe, breathe, breathe" into his ear, which would eventually help him settle. Eren couldn't stop the sad smile that came to his face at the thought of his mother. He felt the tears return, but he was too lost in the memories to notice.

Levi sat there in a few moments of silence, faintly hearing the sound of Eren's breathing, before letting out a long sigh. The other took the hint and stepped away. A wave of fear suddenly washed over him and he stepped back. Was he angry? Levi slowly turned to him, his face being as expressionless as usual, and looked at him. Not just in his direction, _looked_ at him. It was hard to explain.

Levi stood up and stepped in Eren's direction, and the younger one was confused on how he was able to tell where he was. Levi stopped for a moment, as if to confirm that he was standing in the right spot, and raised his fist. Yep. He was definitely going to punch him. Definitely, no doubt about it. Eren cringed and closed his eyes, waiting for the swing that never came. He shot his eyes open when he instead Levi's hand on his cheek, being more gentle than he was expecting.

"Shit. You're tall. Fuck you." Levi muttered while narrowing his eyes at him. Eren was confused on what he was doing when the man's thumb came in contact with something wet. Levi changed from being irritated to curious. He swirled one of his tears on his face until they faded dry. "You're crying."

Eren's eyes widened.

 _…_ _What?_

Shit. He had forgotten that he was crying. He blinked back any more tears that were heading out and broke free of the man's grasp. He used his sleeve to dry the rest of his tears. The last person in the world he wanted to know he was crying was here and it only made things worse. He felt himself blush out of embarrassment and he hid his face in his hands. Not that it would matter, considering he was dealing with a blind man.

Levi rubbed his fingers together curiously, rolling the left over tears that had gathered on his fingers. After another moment, he walked to Eren again, who was too embarrassed to notice the movement. He brought his hand up again and rest it on the side of his head this time. Eren jumped at the touch and felt himself grow redder. He didn't want to be pestered on this. Levi already knew he was crying, which hurt his pride well enough. What else could he want?

Levi used his thumb to trace up to the corner of Eren's eye, and slowly brought it back, rubbing the tears away. He brought his other hand up to the other side and did the same with the opposite. Eren's eyes widened when he realized what he was doing. He was drying his tears.

 _What… what the hell is he doing?! Isn't he going to say some snarky comment about me? Wh-why is he-?!_

"Your face is warm." He spoke after some silence. Eren felt his cheeks burn even more. "I can't tell if it's from the tears or if you're blushing." Eren shook his head, wanting to pull away from him. Levi moved his hand to the back of his head to keep him from moving. "Quit it. Think of this as an apology for breaking your phone, brat." He then said. He used his ring finger to lightly trace over the lid of his eye, wiping the moisture away. Eren felt weird about this. Levi was blind, but it legitimately felt like his eyes were burning into his face. It's not like they were full of worry or concern either. In his eyes were slight confusion and curiosity. He looked somewhat intrigued.

And intrigued he was. Levi was genuinely interested. While playing through that song, he had practically forgotten that the brunette was even present. He was so lost in the music that he had completely lost all train of thought. But that song… it was his own original song. He made it… with people he would refuse to think of.

He thought he could handle playing it again, for old time's sake perhaps. Somewhere mid-through the song, he just _snapped._ Something about it brought back… that incident he wouldn't speak of. That incident that was engraved in his memory. That song was special. It was his… no, _theirs._

Usually when Levi snapped, it took Erwin and his stupid counseling to get him out of it. It usually involved yanking the shorter man out of the seat as he kicked and screamed in anger. But Eren, don't ask him how, was able to calm him down by simply holding him.

Levi wasn't going to lie, he was seriously debating on ripping the mute's face off when he did that. But when he listened to his calm breathing and steady heartbeat, it just… relaxed him, somehow. He didn't know how to explain it. The brat was easily able to raise the man's ire, but at the same was able to calm him… or some cliché shit like that.

"Am I interrupting something?" A deep voice sounded from the doorway. Both of the men jumped and jerked their heads in the direction of the voice. Erwin was standing there with a few bags in his hands, and he was staring at the two of them like he'd seen a ghost. Eren wanted to roll up into a ball and shun himself from the world.

"Tch!" Levi sounded. He walked in Erwin's direction and jabbed a finger into his chest. "About damn time you returned." Erwin raised a brow and glanced at Eren with confusion. The younger one had pulled his hoodie far over his head. Maybe if he pulled hard enough he could merge with the jacket itself. It was worth a try.

"…Alright then. I, uh…" He noticed the dried tears on Eren's face and rushed over. "Hey, what happe-?" Erwin started, but Eren was already halfway out the door juggling his belongings in his arms. When the door closed, Erwin simply sighed in defeat and set down the bags. Levi had already made his way back to his seat.

"So…" Erwin began, fighting back a grin. "What was that about?" Levi raised a brow.

"What was what?" He asked.

"I, uh, couldn't help but notice you and Eren." He pressed further. "It looked kinda…you know…" No. He didn't know. Levi turned in his direction, not hiding his irritation.

"Go on."

"… Forget it. I'll just drop it." Erwin shook his head and put the groceries away. Levi rolled his eyes and continued on with the piano. This conversation wasn't dropped. Erwin will probably just bring it up another time.

* * *

"Hey, Eren." Marco greeted once Eren made his way in. The walk had managed to clear up the man's brain and he was no longer crying. He gave a lazy wave to him. He looked around, expecting Jean to be there.

"Yeah, he left a while ago." Marco answered his unspoken question. Eren nodded and threw his things carelessly against the wall. He opened his laptop and sat down next to him. "You weren't gone for a long time. Something happen?" He asked innocently.

Eren furrowed his brow and debated on telling him about what happened. He decided against it and shook his head. Marco nodded and went back to his computer. "Want to jump on the game?" Eren grinned at him. This 'game' Attack on Titan was easily one of his favorite games to play. Who knew that one of his father's 'favorite book collections' would become a game a few years later. He almost missed his old dog Titan. But then again, he hated that dog.

He pulled up the game and logged into their server. It took a moment to load, but once it started, he was ready to kill. A few others were on the server as well. There was Marco, Sasha, Jean, and Connie. The whole gang was there, and he assumed that they all had been playing while he was gone.

 **Potatoes4lyfe: AH!**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: EREN! IT'S ON NOW!**

 **Magestic_Stallion: Look who finally showed up**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: And now it's on!**

The game's plot was quite simple. You kill titans, and that's about it. But it was so addicting at the same time. Eren managed to kill 4 titans before any of his friends got up to bat. He could practically feel Jean scowling behind his computer.

 **Magestic_Stallion: I hate you Jaeger**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Orlly?**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Get on my level scrub**

Out of nowhere, Connie moved over in front of Jean, successfully stealing his kill.

 **KarateMcConnie: HAH!**

 **KarateMcConnie: Got em**

 **Magestic_Stallion: Hate you too connie**

 **Potatoes4Lyfe: Better what yo selves**

Sasha moved past both of them and got two titans, quickly reaching back and striking down a third titan.

 **KarateMcConnie: gay**

 **Magestic_Stallion: I'm gay and I know that's gay**

 **MrFreckles: We all know ur gay jean**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: I think strangers kno that Jean is gay**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Pls**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: I think the whole world can clearly see that Jean and his horse army is gay**

 **Magestic_Stallion: Fuck all of you up the ass**

Eren turned to Marco and they both grinned. It was too fun to mess with Jean.

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Haha! 10 kills n00bs**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: FUCK YOU NO FAIR**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: U stole half my kills**

 **KarateMcConnie: Doesn't feel good does it**

 **Magestic_Stallion: See how I feel**

 **Magestic_Stallion: We should all just gang up on Eren and fuck him in the ass**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Now THAT**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: That is gay and you know it scrub**

 **Magestic_Stallion: Fuck you you kno what I mean**

They all played for a while with Eren having the most kills, Sasha being runner up, Connie trailing behind, and Jean and Marco with barely any kills.

 **Magestic_Stallion: u kno what I hate all of u and I hope u all can suck some dick**

 **KarateMcConnie: Hey its not our fault u suck at this**

 **Magestic_Stallion: Im fucking amazing at this game**

 **Magestic_Stallion: SOME PEOPLE LIKE STEALING KILLS**

 **Magestic_Stallion: COUGH COUGH EREN COUGH COUGH SASHA**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: Shut up and get over it n00b**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: Ur just jealous of our skillz**

 **MrFreckles: Shit I died again**

 **MrFreckles: Thanks jean**

 **MrFreckles: OH SHIT I 4got we have a test tomorrow**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: WHAT Y**

 **MrFreckles: We should go study**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: omfg I hate everything**

 **Potatoes4lyfe: haha**

 **Magestic_Stallion: serves u right u dick**

 **MrFreckles: gtg**

 **Jaeger_Bombastic: ttyl**

 **-MrFreckles has left the game-**

 **-Jaeger_bombastic has left the game-**


	5. The college life is the good life

**Spit It Out**

* * *

 **Ch. 5- The college life is the good life**

* * *

 **Friday 8:24 P.M**

 _Fuck my life._

Eren dropped his half-dead body onto his bed; he didn't even care about his sheets anymore. He was unable to stop his worn out body from feeling some sort of satisfaction, even if it was from the terrible dorm beds. Marco shut the door and pressed his back up to it, sliding down. He made a noise that was a cross between a wine and a groan. Let's just say that some grades came in that day. Things were not good.

 _Seriously. Just fuck my life._

He wanted to curl himself into a ball and disappear from the planet earth. Why was he so stupid? Why couldn't he pass one stupid test in his life?

"I can't believe… I just… a 67…" Marco murmured into his hands. "I can't believe I failed that test! I studied so hard!" He flipped himself over and rolled onto his side, nearly ripping his hair out. They bombed the test. Even after they pulled an all-nighter, they still flunked. Math was giving them the beating of a life-time. Their grade on this test had dragged them down. Hard. Marco had a 67 in that class, while Eren's current grade was a 54. It wasn't just the math class. Marco had poor grades in almost every class. Eren was failing most of his.

Marco looked up to his friend with a tired expression. "I am barely passing my class. I have a D." Eren shot him a dirty look. He wasn't even passing with the bare minimum. He was failing his classes. The only class he was passing was Foreign Language, and that was because he could speak fluent German. He was swamped with work, and each day became more and more stressful.

Armin even said that he didn't know why Eren had such a hard time in school. He's always been this way, barely crawling through the system. It was a miracle that he graduated high school, and he had to repeat his freshman year. Hell, it didn't even start in high school. Since he started school in general, it was extremely hard to keep up with others. Teachers suggested that it was because of being mute or perhaps anxiety.

Mikasa even pulled out the big books and forced Eren to settle down and study with her. Not only did he not understand it, he practically threw a fit whenever he couldn't answer a question. But he did try. And he did force his way through high school with blood and tears. And by blood and tears, he means cheating and copying homework for most of the year.

In all honesty, he never wanted to go to college. As soon as he was finished with high school, he was absolutely ready to give up on school. He didn't feel like he needed to go to college. He just wanted to get a small apartment, get a small job to pay the bills, and play his violin. No drama, no bullshit, nothing. He didn't care if his work never reached the ears of many, or if he could one day become famous for the music he produced. He wasn't looking for that. Unfortunately, his whole family was completely against the idea. His father, Mikasa and even Armin pressured him to go, and they wouldn't let up until he finally caved.

"Jean is not going to like this." Marco murmured after a few moments of silenced. Eren slowly lifted his head from the pillow and shot him a glare.

 _Oh really? And just what is he expecting? Your study sessions are no more than flirting and kissing. I actually try and study, but I still can't do shit. You could pass if you would just try once in a while!_

"No need to send the glare. I'm just as upset about this as you are." Marco shot back in an uncharacteristically angry way. Eren didn't let his glare falter and he rolled his eyes at his friend.

 _No. I don't think you are. YOU are passing you're classes with C's and B's. YOU wanted to come here. YOU chose to come here._

Eren turned his head back around and stared at the wall. He remembered when he was in elementary and he was failing his science class. He never understood science. He was never interested in atoms, or space, or any of that. Carla would always lecture him about doing well in school, and how he would need to know these things if he wanted a job. Moving on to high school, his mother got worried. She even thought that Eren was skipping school or not turning in assignments. She would always pester him about it, and call up the school each day to make sure he was there. It infuriated him, but it also warmed his heart to know his mom cared so much about him.

"-Eren, are you even listening?" The brunette whipped his head over to Marco's voice. He was staring back at him with an annoyed expression, holding out his phone to him.

" _Nice_. Thanks for being a reliable friend." You could practically smell the sarcasm on his voice and Eren had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes into the back of his head. "Mikasa wants to talk to you." He walked over and snatched the phone from him. She was the last person he wanted to talk to.

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Whats up sis}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {Just reminding you that I'm going to visit on Sunday. I'll be renting an apartment not too far from you.}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {I know Mikasa you told me this yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Why not just stamp clingy on your forehead}

Eren smirked at the phone. He wanted to play around. He wanted something to take his mind off of his awful day.

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {Watch your mouth. While I'm there, I'll make sure that everything is fine and that there isn't any stupid shit happening in your area. I'll also be expecting a full report on your grades, so I hope you haven't been slacking off.}

He frowned. He wished he could go back to the days where Mikasa wasn't forever leaning over his shoulder and watching his every mood.

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Youll be happy to see these grades. I have never been more proud. I should be a scholar… or scientist! }

Why not add a little humor to lighten the mood? Mikasa knew that his grades were piss-poor, so why not try to make a laugh out of it? No such luck.

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {I'm sure they're just fine -_- Seriously, get those grades up or I'll make sure to kick your ass.}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {you think I want to be like this? I have been trying so hard!}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {No. No you haven't. You're just screwing around with your friends.}

Unbelievable. Really, unbelievable. She was bringing this up. It was like she knew just the perfect moment to bring up the worst subjects.

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Omg I can't believe you are starting this right now}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {Yeah. I am. This can't continue Eren. If push comes to shove, I will stay down there and force you to pick those grades up. It's worked before and it will work now.}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {This is just total fucking bullshit I'm working my ass off and here you are thinking you can just own me}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {You better watch your ass. I'm not afraid to discipline you. I have that power.}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Just shut up Mikasa! You're not my mom so stop treating me like your responsibility!}

 **Mikasa to Eren: {** YOU ARE MY RESPONSIBILITY!}

He gripped the phone tighter as he read the message.

 _I am her responsibility?! NO! No I'm not! I am my own responsibility! She doesn't need to take care of me! I don't want her to take care of me!_

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {As long as you are my brother, I will be in charge of you. Mom told me to make sure you stayed on track no matter what}

 _She is actually bringing up mom right now. She is literally trying to piss me off._

Marco cringed as he watched Eren type with speed and force like no other. He wanted to help him, but this was too personal for a friend to intervene. It was hard to empathize with Eren.

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Shut up just shut up omg you are really testing me right now}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Dont ever bring up mom again What is wrong with you}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {I'm doing this for your own good! I want you to pass Eren! I want you to feel accomplished with yourself}

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {I don't want you to just half-ass yourself through college. School should be filled with good memories about succeeding and getting far in life. Not just slacking off.

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {I just want you to be happy.}

Eren glared down at the phone, trembling it within his hand. He had half a mind to throw it against the wall, but he knew better. That wouldn't solve anything. And it wouldn't suit his anger. He typed slowly this time, as if it would enforce the sarcasm even more.

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Well you certainly know how to make me feel happy don't you}

It was simple sass, but there was malice dripping from every word, and he could tell that she knew.

 **Mikasa to Eren:** {Eren…}

 **Eren to Mikasa:** {Goodnight to you too then}

Eren shoved the phone back to his friend and made his way back to his bed. He fell face first onto the sheets. He didn't bother kicking off his shoes; he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore. He had a free day tomorrow and he would probably be forced to spend that day with his head in the books. Might as well get some shut eye before that happens.

Marco sighed and clicked off his phone. He hated it when Mikasa and Eren fought. No one would win from it. Nothing would be resolved from it. It was just a cycle.

* * *

Eren slept in for most of the night. He usually never went to bed at 8:00, and he knew that this sudden change would completely mess up his sleep cycle. He didn't care. Sleep was like a drug to him. He loved sleep. If he wasn't playing his instrument, or studying his ass off, he was sleeping. Marco practically had to drag him out of bed each morning. It wasn't his fault. Once he was in the warmth of his covers, it was hard to coax him out.

Eren woke up at 2:30 AM. His face was shoved into his pillow and he almost didn't want to move from his comfortable position. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep now that he's woken up so he reluctantly pulled himself from his sheets. He rolled off the bed and stood up groggily. He stretched his back, feeling it pop and stretch his stiff muscles. He glanced over and saw Marco sprawled out on his bed. He was laying on his stomach, and in his hand he could see he was holding a book. He guessed he tried to study. Key word: Tried.

He walked around and shook himself awake. His eyes trailed over to his workbooks and he frowned. He thought back to his little quarrel with Mikasa and sighed. He needed to try harder. He needed to stop making excuses and be better. She was right—no, she was always right. Always.

He answered his homework the best way he could, but he knew that all of his answers were wrong. Halfway through his math work, he erased all his answers and started over. He reworked them all and still erased them again and again. No matter what he did, he just didn't feel satisfied with his answers. By the time he was 'done' with half of his sheets, it was already 4: 00. He glanced at the time on his computer and gave a hollow chuckle.

 _An hour and a half of working, and I barely did anything. God, I'm so pathetic_.

He decided to take a break from working and to start reading. His favorite activity. He absolutely hated reading, whether it was studying or casually skimming through a book. At times, he would start a paragraph and he would immediately forget what he just read. He would have to read a passage 5 times before he would get the picture, and after that he wouldn't want to continue reading.

His frequent headaches wouldn't help either. It was just so hard to concentrate when it felt like arrows were targeting his brain. He never understood how Armin could have a whole library filled with books as big as his head.

4:30 AM. Nothing was sticking. Everything that he just read was gone. He couldn't keep all of the information in his head, and he didn't know why. It wasn't hard… it was just… not sticking. When did he get such a terrible memory?

5:00 AM. Eren began getting headaches. They would occasionally go away for a minute, but then come back full force. At times, he would just drop his book and curl up into a ball onto the floor, clinging his head in pain. It didn't help. If anything, it made it worse.

6:00 AM. He went back to his homework. He thought that would freshen his mind a little to help study. Not in the slightest bit. Every time he worked out a problem, he would forget a few steps he had to do. So then he would bring out his notes that he took in class, but then he would still be confused since he paraphrased the steps. When he finally remembered how to do the problems, he realized that he did the first half of the work wrong and pitifully erased all of his answers again. This was a start to a great morning.

It was about 7:00 when Eren found himself growing tired again. He decided he needed a little break and left the dorm room with his keycard in his pocket. He was going to chill out at the coffee shop for a while and clear his head. He didn't know if he was going to get breakfast at the cafeteria or buy it on his own, but only one thing was on his mind at the moment; coffee.

When he reached the shop, he already had his mini notepad ready. A few of the employees turned to the sound of the door opening, but quickly smiled and waved to him. He grinned and waved back. He was very well known here since he was a regular.

"Oh, Eren!" A certain bouncy brunette chirped in surprise. Eren glanced over and raised a brow at Sasha, who was fumbling with her apron while trying to look over to him. He forgot she was working that day. "My shift just started. You're up kinda early, no?" Eren gave a lazy shrug and yawned. He rubbed his tired eyes and gave Sasha a half-awake look. She didn't need for him to write his order, she knew already. She ushered him to his table and called out his order. He waited patiently for his cup, rubbing his temple to settle down his headache. He was glad he didn't have any classes that day. He didn't need more work to add to the pile.

A few minutes later, his coffee cup was served to him. He could hardly wait for his waitress to take his money before he brought the drink eagerly to his lips. He felt his hair stand up at the sudden taste and heat. Steaming hot with a shot of bitterness, just the way he likes it. He never understood how Sasha could add cups and cups of sugar and cream to her coffee. It made it taste soggy and gross. He preferred his coffee black, something that packs a kick when you take a sip. That's the way to keep you awake, not being hopped up on sugar.

Despite the coffee helping, his body was still worn out. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He can usually be so active, even with only a few hours of sleep. However, he's been feeling more and more sluggish lately. Maybe it had something to do with the stress he was feeling lately. He's always been bad at school, but never this bad. The more he worked, the more confusing it became. The more breaks he took, the more restless naps he would have; and the more time he wasted.

He was wasting time right now, actually. He needed to finish his cup and head back up to the dorm. But this coffee was just calling out his name in the sweetest voice. He couldn't convince himself to leave early. He took his time and enjoyed his drink, watching the passing people through the glass by his table. The music that filled the café helped keep him awake. Who could sleep with annoying pop songs playing in the background?

At some point, he decided to buy breakfast while he was there. He got a few blueberry muffins; some for breakfast and some for later. Sasha came over a few times to chat. She probably saw how tired he was. She kept telling him that he needed to get some more sleep, but that seemed impossible for Eren. He got plenty of sleep, he just never got any rest from it… or something like that. He didn't know how to phrase it.

Around 8:00, Eren left a tip at his table and headed back to his dorm. When he got there, Marco was already gone. He guessed that he went to get breakfast, but he wasn't hungry enough to join him. He sat down on his bed and opened back up his worksheets. He went through each page, following his notes step by step, busting out his calculator and manually trying to understand how to use the graphing. He worked through each and every page, making sure he answered it correctly. He was pretty sure Marco wasn't coming back soon. He probably had a class that day. Which meant he had the dorm to himself.

He didn't know when he fell asleep. One second he was knee deep in books and another he was curled up into his blankets, drooling all over his cheek and shoulder. He lifted his head and wiped the drool from his mouth. He checked the time. 1:30 PM. He slowly glanced down and saw a whole spit trail leading from his cheek to his shoulder and all the way down to his papers.

Those papers. How many had he finished by then? Too many to count. And he still wasn't done. He still had many late assignments to turn in. Some were essays that he didn't bother to finish and he didn't even want to think about writing.

He didn't even have a restful sleep. There wasn't a dream involved. He was still so tired and his back was sore from sitting for so long. His neck was stiff and he felt like shit. He just wanted to pass out at that moment. It was all just too much. He brought his knees up to his chest and rolled over onto his side. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around his body. He rested his cheek on one of the papers and just closed his eyes.

Was he even sleeping? He could barely tell if he was dozing off or just lying there. At some point or another, Marco returned and checked up on him. He offered to bring him along to hang out with Sasha and Connie, but Eren just wasn't feeling it. With some reluctance, he let him sleep in for the day and went off without him.

The warmth of the sheets were like heaven to him, regardless of how cheap the beds were. He hoped that he could at least get some sort of rest from this, or else it was a waste of time. Even if he wanted to pull himself from the covers, he couldn't. He was just so tired.

* * *

He was woken up by the sound of the door closing and things rustling in the background. He slowly lifted his head from the sheet and looked up to investigate. Marco was sorting through some of his work, and Jean was sitting beside him on the bed. He noticed someone moving out of the corner of his eye and looked over to Eren. He let out a snort.

"Looking good, sleeping beauty." He joked. Eren held up his middle finger in response. He probably looked really disgusting. He was drooling everywhere, there was bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess, and he was wearing a disgusting old jacket. He didn't care. Physical appearances meant nothing to him. Besides, everyone looks ugly when they sleep.

"Oh! Eren's awake?" Marco looked up. Eren sat up properly and stretched, looking at the two of them through one eye. The other man smiled. "Nice to see you're back from the dead. Mikasa got settled in her apartment a few hours ago." He informed.

Wait. What?

 _Mikasa…. She's here?! But she's supposed to come here on Sunday!_

Jean saw his baffled expression and smirked. "You've been out for a few hours… and by that, I mean, A LOT of hours."

 _What?_

Marco frowned. "You have the weekend off of classes, so I didn't both trying to wake you. You slept in longer than I thought you would. "

 _What happened to my Saturday? Where did my day go?_

Eren must have been gaping, because Jean was laughing like crazy. Marco lightly punched his shoulder to make him stop.

"Jean. I think it's time you go." He said through gritted teeth. His boyfriend gave a questionable look.

"But why?! It's not my fault he's not response-"

" _Jean."_ Marco said in a stronger voice. Jean paused for a moment before rolling his eyes. Marco smiled, seeing that he won.

"Whatever you say." Jean shrugged. He stood up and shoved his hands in his pocket, making his way out of the room. Now it was just Marco and Eren. After a few moment of silence, he looked back to his friend.

"We can head over now or later if you want. I have a free day, and I feel like you need some assistance…" He suggested, checking his phone for directions. Eren ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He didn't want to deal with Mikasa, and he certainly didn't want to bring his friend into it. But he knew that seeing her was mandatory, so there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

He got dressed into an old Tee and threw on some clean pants. He threw on some shoes and fixed his hair. He noticed on one of the desks that his two last muffins that he forgot to eat were still there. He heard his stomach growl and snatched both of them to eat on the road. He made a mental note to stop and get some fast food later. The two of them were out the door in less than a few minutes.


	6. Follow the red trail

**Sunday 12:45 P.M**

 _I suppose I couldn't avoid her forever._

Eren thought to himself as he waited for his sister to answer the door. The walk to her apartment wasn't too long. It was roughly a 20 minute walk. Marco was there, and he wasn't looking too good. There's a serious problem when your close friend is scared of your sibling. There were a few footsteps heard, and the doorknob turned. The door quickly swung open and Mikasa's worried face was shown.

She was noticeably paler than Eren, and her silky black hair was perfectly cut by her face. Eren always told her to keep it short if she wanted to go into sports. She had a muscular built and yet a gorgeous face. She was wearing a white sweater, with the bright red scarf she always wore around her neck. She was tall, beautiful and perfect. Much different from her problematic brother.

"E-Eren!" She gasped, reaching over and clasping his hand. "I… I'm sorry about what I said! I went overboard- I didn't mean to-!" Eren quickly put a hand over her mouth, stopping her from her ramblings. With his other hand, he formed words.

 **[It is okay, Mikasa. It was my fault. I should be doing better anyway.]**

Mikasa took a moment and sighed. She lifted her hand and pitifully signed back.

 **[But it is obvious that you are struggling with school, so I should not scold you for something you do not understand. I even brought up mom, and you-]**

 **[Never bring her up again.]**

Eren found himself staring at the ground with a hurt expression. He had his other fist clenched and his brow furrowed. He looked back up to see mikasa staring back at him with a similar expression.

"I understand." She said meekly.

 _No. No you don't understand._ Eren wanted to say. _You weren't there when I found her. You weren't there as the cops dragged that murderer away. You weren't there to watch them throw a sheet over your mother like a dead carcass. You weren't there…_

Eren found himself with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. What was he thinking? Of course she wasn't there. Thank God she wasn't there. Thank God Armin wasn't there. He was so grateful that he was the only one who was scarred that day. Why was he getting so worked up over his sister being spared of that pain?

"Let's just…" Marco broke the silence, catching both of the siblings' attention. He didn't know what they were signing about, but judging by their expressions, he could tell that they were tense. "… head inside and settle down. You two haven't seen each other in a while. Let's make it joyful, yeah?" Mikasa paused for a moment before nodding, letting the two into her rented apartment. She walked in and sat on the couch, along with the other two.

"So…" Mikasa started. "No one has been messing with you, have they?"

 **[Not really.]**

"They better not." She growled. "Or else I'd skin them alive and wear them as my coat." Marco shivered and Eren had a cold sweat. He shook his head and sighed. He was thankful to be on her good side. She was a scary woman when she wanted to be. "I guess I don't have to ask how good your grades are, do I?"

 **[Not unless you want disappointing answers.]**

She sighed. "Thought so. What classes do you seem to be failing?"

 **[All of them. I do not think you want me to go into detail.]**

Mikasa took a moment and closed her eyes, thinking to herself. "Well, that settles it." She leaned back and crossed her arms. "I will be your tutor for as long as it takes." Eren nearly choked on his spit as he whipped his head to her with wide eyes. "That's right. Starting tomorrow, we're going to crack down on homework each day."

 **[But that is not-]**

"I gave you as many chances as I could."

 **[But I did no-]**

"Now I can make sure you know what you're doing."

 **[But I-]**

"No buts." She dropped it there. Marco watched in pity as Eren's shoulders slumped and he formed a pout on his face. It truly wasn't fair, but then again, neither was most of the things that happened to Eren. "I'm doing this for your own good."

 _It feels like you're doing this for your own amusement._

"Ah, and Marco?"

He jumped in his seat. "Y-y-yes, Mikasa?" He sputtered. She shot a disapproving look to him.

"Armin told me what you did with Jean. I'm not amused."

"What I did with jean…?" He started, but his mind suddenly clicked and he shot a glare at Eren. "You told Armin about what happened?! How could you?!" Marco glared down at the sinking man who was just about ready to hit the floor.

 _That snitch._

"Enough." Mikasa said in a stern voice. "I don't care what you do with your boyfriend, but honestly; what were you thinking?!" Marco frowned and looked down.

"I wasn't thinking- I'm so sorry." The man sent a hidden glare towards Eren before bowing his head to Mikasa.

"Obviously you weren't. But it's fine. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, or I'll make sure you won't see Jean again. Understood?" Marco practically saluted her. Eren wanted to smile, but he was afraid that she'd scold him for that too. He loved her to death, but she really knew how to be a parent when she could be. She'd be a good mother one day.

Mikasa looked down to her brother and grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him up. "Sit up straight."

 _A great mother._

"You know what? You've gotten a little taller since we've last met, haven't you?" Eren cocked an eyebrow.

 _I have?_

Marco looked over, "He has? I never noticed." He mumbled, looking off into space. "I guess that's what happens when you live with someone for a while…" He then grinned and punched Eren's shoulder. "Maybe now you can finally get yourself a girl, huh' Eren?" The brunette shot a glare to Marco and shook his head.

 _You think you're so funny._

"Not without my approval, he won't!" Mikasa exclaimed. Marco busted out laughing and Eren couldn't help but smile. Mikasa tried to keep her stern look, but even she had to let out a giggle or two. She wasn't completely stoic, after all. She gave her brother a small punch on the shoulder and relaxed into the cushion.

"So, tell me Marco…" Mikasa turned to the freckled man. "How _is_ your relationship coming along?" Marco glanced over.

"My relationship? You mean with Jean?" He asked dumbly. Eren nearly smacked his forehead.

 _Who ELSE would you be with, you idiot?_

"Yeah. How many years have you two been together?" She pondered, tapping her finger against her cheek. Marco smiled and looked up, thinking to himself in silence. He then turned and looked towards the dark haired woman.

"I would say 6 years, by now." He said with a childish grin. Eren nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head. He couldn't imagine staying with someone for so long, especially not someone like that horse faced loser. Then again, that's coming from someone who hasn't been in a relationship- and who probably never will be.

Mikasa nodded and crossed her arms. "I still remember the day you two first got together." She smiled. Marco is one of her oldest friends. It's crazy to think back to when they were so young. It's only been a few years, but it feels like it's been forever.

Marco grabbed Eren's shoulder and shook him slightly. "It's all thanks to this guy!" He laughed. The brunette rolled his eyes. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have the guts to talk to Jean."

 _Of all of the good things I've done, that is the one I regret the most._

Of course, he didn't mean that. He was happy that Marco was happy, and even if Jean was an ass, Eren was happy that he was happy too. The three of them sat in the apartment and had small talk. They caught up with all of the latest things that they missed. Mikasa told them all about her team and the difficulties with sport injuries, and Marco went on and on about his struggles with exams. Eren decided to keep quiet about his current events. None of it would amuse his sister much, and he wasn't good at small talk. He leaned to the side and looked off towards the wall, letting the other two chat away.

After an hour passed, he was practically counting his fingers to keep himself amused. The other two had resulted in turning on the TV and watching sports to pass the time. He wished he had his phone, or his laptop. He wanted to talk with Erwin, or Sasha- or anybody for that matter. He felt so out of it when he couldn't talk to his friends casually. Mikasa and Marco were just chatting away with themselves about all the boring stuff he couldn't be bothered to be interested in.

Ping!

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Marco's phone go off. He looked over and saw Marco swiping his screen, and squinting as he tried to read. After a second or two, his face contorted in confusion. Mikasa raised a brow.

"What's the matter?" She asked. Marco shook his head and clicked his phone off.

"It's Jean. He's asking to talk to Eren." The brunette rolled his eyes and held his hand out to take the phone. "No. He wants to talk to you back at the dorms. Weird."

"Did you piss him off again?" Mikasa sighed, shaking her head.

 **[I would not be surprised. He always starts fights with me for no reason.]**

Eren stood up and stretched his legs. At least this got him out of having to join the conversation.

 **[I should go see what the hell he wants.]**

"See you later, Eren." Marco waved as he walked off to the door. Mikasa turned around.

"Don't forget about tomorrow. As soon as your classes are done, come straight here." She spoke, tapping her foot. Eren wanted to whine, but he held it back and exchanged it for a small wave. He left out the door, relieved that he was finally free of that boredom.

* * *

Eren opened Jean's dorm room to see that he was concentrating on one of his paintings while listening to music on his headphones; it's easy to forget that such a dumbass could be such a good artist. He quietly walked over and glanced at what he was painting. It was a portrait of Marco sleeping on his bed, looking calm and peaceful. Right next to the painting was an actual photo he had taken from this morning. Eren looked disgusted. If anyone took a photo of him while he was asleep, he'd call the cops and file a restraining order immediately. Jean sure knew how to creep someone out.

Eren smirked and snuck up behind him, waiting for him to place the brush on the paper. He gave Jean a quick shove from the back, watching the brush jut out of his hand and smear across the page.

"S-Shit!" He cursed, yanking his hands back and looking at the now 'ruined' picture. He sat there with his mouth agape before turning around and shooting the mute a dark glare. Eren couldn't help but have the cheekiest grin on his face, and it didn't go away when Jean grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground. "Y'know, I am NOT afraid to hurt the disabled!"

Eren quickly lifted his hand and began to sign.

 **[I will keep that in mind, horse face.]**

He smirked and smacked Jean's hand away.

 **[So why did you call me? Unless you wanted to start something!]**

Jean squinted his eyes and took a moment to decipher the hand motion, then he roughly dropped him to the ground. Eren raised a brow and watched him walk away. "Can you calm the fuck down for five minutes? -Damn!" Eren raised both his brows in amusement.

 _So he actually wanted to have a rational conversation? I'm impressed._

"I need your opinion on something important, dude." He stood up, suddenly looking a little skittish. Jean looked over his shoulder before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a small box. He opened the lid, and inside was a small, shiny ring.

Eren looked at the box and then at jean, then back at the box, then back at Jean. He then dumbly pointed to himself in bewilderment. Jean's excited face fell in annoyance, and he had half a mind to hit the mute.

"NO! It's not for you, you German weirdo! It's for Marco- who else would it be for?!" Jean barked, and Eren felt a wave of relief rush over him like no other. That nearly gave him a heart attack. Then he took another pause. It was for… Marco?

A sudden realization hit Eren and had the cheekiest grin that Jean had the displeasure of seeing.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face…- and you'd better not tell him, or else!" He snapped back. Eren wanted to run around the campus yelling at the top of his lungs that the pretty-boy Jean Kirchstein was ready to tie the knot, but not only would that be impossible, the horse would probably stomp on him. For now, all he could do was have a cocky smile plastered on his face.

Jean glared at the idiot before his expression softened. "Please be honest with me, Jaeger. I need to know if he'd like this." Eren blinked a few times before shrugging.

 _Why are you asking me? I'm not Marco!_

"I'm being serious here!" Jean pitifully fell back onto the bed, letting a groan escaped his throat. He threw his hand over his face in frustration. "You're his best friend. I thought you'd have clue." Eren wanted to laugh at the man's struggle, but he was genuinely concerned for Marco- and this was no small matter, even _he_ knew that. This was an engagement. A life commitment.

Eren sat down next to Jean and took the ring to examine it. He flipped it around and looked it up and down. It was small, but the ring had intricate little designs that followed it all the way around. When he faced it toward him, engraved in the silver was 'Marry Me' in cursive. It looked like a gorgeous ring, and it was no doubt expensive.

 _How did he even afford this?_

 **[He would love this.]**

Jean narrowed his eyes in doubt. "Are you sure? Because if he doesn't like it, I'm blaming you for it!" Eren delivered him a punch to the shoulder in response.

 **[When are you going to do it?]**

Jean sighed and closed his eyes, "I don't know yet. I… I'm not even sure if now is the right time. What if it's too soon?" He scratched the back of his head. "He'd be freaked out for sure."

 **[Six years is a long time, and Marco loves you to death. Don't ask me why.]**

"Yeah, but…"

 **[And you love him, right?]**

"Of course I do!"

 **[Then go for it. I can promise you he will say yes. Trust me.]**

"…" Jean found himself looking back down at the ring and slowly smiling. "Alright. I'll do it. I'm going to set up a date for Marco soon, and I will do it." He let out a shaky breath and closed the box. "I'll do it. Thanks, Jaeger."

Eren will admit it. Jean wasn't THAT bad. Though, he'd still give the title of the Number 1 Biggest Douche to him any day of the week. But even so, he wasn't that bad of a guy. Especially considering he was one of his only friends who could actually read sign.

 **[No problem, horse face.]**

Jean nodded and then looked over to his painting. He scowled before walking over and ripping the sheet off the stand. He then proceeded to crumble the paper and tear it to shreds. Eren watched in slight amusement. Why was the horse such a nit-pick?

After ripping the paper up to little pieces, Jean turned towards Eren and narrowed his eyes. The other smirked and lifted his hand.

 **[Glaring at me will not get you a fiancé]**

Jean walked over and pulled the mute into a tight headlock. He watched him flail around to get out of his grasp, and he dug his knuckles into his skull.

 _OW! WHAT THE FU- STOP IT! HORSE FACE! YOU PIECE OF SHI- OW!_

Jean busted out laughing, as if he could hear what he was screaming inside his head. It felt like they were back in high school, when they'd randomly punch or kick each other while walking down the hall- just to piss each other off. Jean popped his finger in his mouth and stuck it in the other's ear. Eren nearly fell on the floor.

 _GROSS! OH MY FUCKIN- WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!_

"THIS is for ruining my portrait!" He laughed triumphantly. Eren almost wished for the horse's death right then and there.

 **…Later…**

"Ah, Eren!" Marco stepped into his dorm, glancing at the brunette sitting on his bed and listening to some music. Eren lifted his earphones and looked over, giving a silent wave. He already had a small notebook ready, in case he needed to 'talk'. "Mikasa sure hasn't changed that much, that's for sure." He said, taking off his jacket and jumping on his bed. He laid down and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and rolled over to his side. Steady breathing filled the room and Eren let out a calm sigh. Sweet silence; maybe now he could get a good night's rest. He flipped over to his side and rested his head into his pillow. After a few minutes, he could feel his eyes slowly closing and his mind started to drift off. He let the warmth of the blankets engulf him and he sighed into the soft cloth.

"OH!" Marco suddenly yelped, jutting up from his position. Eren jumped from his spot and almost fell off his bed. "I nearly forgot! What did Jean want?" He had an innocent smile on his face, but Eren had the sourest scowl. He then pulled back the little notebook he had sitting beside him and started to scribble and answer down. But he then took a pause.

He had to lie. Marco couldn't know that Jean was planning to propose- but what was a good lie to make him believe he had a reason to go over there? He highly doubted that he would just believe that Jean wanted to fight him, and that was it. He needed a good reason… When something finally clicked, he jotted it down on the notebook and held it up.

{He wanted me to help him find a good picture for him to paint. Hes been losing inspiration as of late.}

It was a lie, but hopefully it was convincing enough to fool him.

And Marco… didn't look completely satisfied with that answer.

"… Alright, Eren." He smiled meekly, but then frowned. "Why didn't he just call me, then?" Crap. Eren looked around for an answer before giving a pitiful shrug. Marco raised a brow before rolling over to his side and placing his head on his pillow. "Whatever you say. Goodnight."

Eren nodded and laid back down, placing the notebook by his side. He turned over and flicked off the light, welcoming his night's sleep to take him.

* * *

 **Sunday 10:30 P.M**

Levi silently sipped on his tea, sitting on the couch in Erwin's apartment. He was staring off into space when he heard a few knocks at the door. He listened to the squeak of the old chair, and the steady steps that trailed further from him. He heard the door squeak open, and twitched as he heard frantic footsteps coming his way.

"Well, you seem to be in a rather good mood today, Levi!" A chirpy voice scratched the older man's ears, making him cringe. He knew who that voice belonged to. Who else could it be?

"Hanji." Levi muttered through gritted teeth. He growled when he felt two arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him into an unwanted hug. "Get OFF me!" He could hear Erwin laughing in the background and Hanji's loud cackle. He wiggled out of the grasp of the crazy woman.

Hanji was a woman with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, with glasses perched on her face. She had the smile of a crazy baboon, and if she didn't have the body of a human, you'd think she really was a baboon. Of course, Levi didn't know what the hell she looked like, so he assumed that she was just an extremely pale, tall woman with frizzy hair, making her look more insane.

She was a scientist who studied the human body and the dysfunctions. She was one of Erwin's friends that was introduced to Levi the day he was picked up from the streets. It wasn't one of better things Erwin brought him for his new life.

"I… don't like being touched." He said, keeping his eyes closed. Hanji smiled before sitting down on the chair. "And I am not in a good mood."

"You're too boring~" She sang, crossing her legs. Erwin popped open a pint of beer and sipped the can.

"He's just being moody as always." He said nonchalantly. "I was going to tell you that Hanji was planning to visit tonight, but… well, surprise?" He chuckled to himself. Levi picked up his cup of tea from the brim and sipped it, ignoring the blonde.

"Still drinking your tea the same weird way, huh?" Hanji started. "So, how long do you plan to stay down here?"

"Mm. Somewhere between now and the end of next month. Then I'll head back home." Another sip from his tea. "I'm really just over here to play my music for a while and relax. Once I head back, I'm going back to work with Petra and the others." Erwin lifted his brows; he had forgotten about his other friends back in the other state. It wasn't hard to, Levi rarely ever talked about them. But they told Erwin that Levi cared about them a lot, much to his surprise.

Hanji giggled in excitement, wiggling in her seat. "Yes! I can come down here and mess with you every day now!"

"Like hell you will." He muttered under his breath. Hanji was truly the most bizarre person he's ever met. "I'm already dealing with one nuisance as of right now, I don't need another." Hanji leaned backwards, balancing the legs onto its hind legs.

"A nuisance- That isn't me?" She asked with curiosity drenched into her words. She felt a spark of excitement. Who was this new person? Whose life could she pry and dissect into now? "Who? Who?! Who is this guy?! –wait, it may be a girl! Who is she?! Wh-?" Erwin took the liberty of placing his hand over her mouth, stopping the woman from chattering away like she always does.

"I believe he is talking about Eren, Hanji." Erwin said. "You've met him before, haven't you? You must have!" Hanji pulled away from the older man and put a hand over her chin. She closed her eyes to pondered who this was. Arin, Aron, Erin… it wasn't ringing any bells.

Erwin frowned, "I would've sworn I've introduced you guys…"

"He probably hasn't, which is why he still has his sanity intact." He grumbled. Hanji giggled to herself and kicked her feet.

"I don't make people crazy, Levi- at least not on purpose!" She cracked a sinister smile. "Ah! Erwin! Fetch me a glass of wine- chop, chop!" Erwin chuckled and made his way over to the kitchen. Hanji was one of his oldest, and most entertaining, friends.

"Anyway, I'm sure if you haven't met him, you'll meet him soon." He said as he poured her a full glass. "He comes over here quite a lot." He gave her the glass and sat back down. Hanji instantly threw back her head and gulped down the alcohol. She looked baffled when she found that there was not a drop left from the glass.

She was about to speak when Erwin beat her to it, "The bottle's in the kitchen. Just take it." He watched as the woman jumped from her seat and skidded over to the kitchen, nearly knocking over the bottle in the process. He looked back to a disgusted Levi and smirked.

"Is there a problem, Levi?"

"Yes. There's an animal in the house… and I hate animals." He grumbled, listening to the frantic giggles in the background. "Especially drunk animals." Erwin gulped down some of his bear before sighing.

"Well, if you can't beat 'em, might as well join them." He grinned before heading into the kitchen and opening his cooler. "What do you want, Levi?"

"Don't bring that shit near me." Levi said.

"It's going to be a long night, and Hanji's not leaving soon. Just tell me what you're planning to hammer yourself with while I'm over here." Erwin replied from the other room. Levi closed his eyes and sighed. He leaned his head back and ran his fingers through his head. He could already feel the hangover he was going to have in the morning. Nonetheless, he spoke.

"Rum."

* * *

 _"I... Where am I?" My voice echoes off into the void._

 _All I see is… white. Nothing but a white sheet clouds my vision. "It's so… beautiful… Wait- what's that sound…?"_

 _…._

 _"I… it's my…. My voice! I can speak! I can talk! Armin! MIkasa! I can talk! I can-"_

 _…_

 _No one is here… I'm just caught in this weird light with no one but myself. It's almost like someone is pulling some sick joke on me. I can finally use my voice, and yet no one is here to hear me nor do I have anywhere to go._

 _How bloody hilarious._

 _I push up from the ground I was laying on, and I look forward. I am caught in this white mist that I cannot see through. The only thing that catches my eye is a thin red string just sitting by me. I look at it and follow its trail that fades out of view a few feet away. The string was sitting just by my feet. I didn't know what to do, where I was, or what it meant, but…_

 _"Does this lead me home?" I aimlessly guessed. I grabbed the string and slowly stood up. "Hey!" I called out, listening to the echoes race out into the distance and get lost into the mist. "Is anyone there?! Mikasa?! Marco?! Sasha?!" All of my shouts went unheard. I stood for a moment before mindlessly walking in the direction of the string. I wrapped the red thread around my right ring finger as I went. I continued to call out for my friends and family._

 _It just went on and on._

 _I must've gone a full mile or two. It only felt like I've been walking for a few minutes. I had already taken into consideration that this could be death itself, and that following this trail could lead me into the most painful pits of hell; or even the most beautiful of heavens…_

 _But I had to get there. I don't know why, but I had to. It wasn't curiosity; it was just a gut feeling. Like, I needed to be there. To find out what was at the end of that thread. 'Round and 'round the thread went, wrapping around my finger like a scarf. I moved onto my pinky finger… then my middle… then the index… then my thumb... soon my entire hand was coated red._

 _But I still walked. I didn't care how long it took, I just walked. On and on I went. I didn't even notice the fog was slowly lifting its white blanket off of me, and I was slowly walking into complete darkness. But the string- this string didn't fade, even in total blackness it shined a deep crimson._

 _As I walked, my steps began to echo. I looked down and saw that with each step that I took, several white circling lines expanded from my leg. This was too bizarre. This was some sick game that someone was playing on me; it must be. I opened my mouth and screamed for anyone and anything. Those white vibrating lines pushed themselves through the air and away from me, but they didn't reach any ears. I just wanted to know that I wasn't alone. I would even be happy if my piece of shit father answered my call. I kept walking, and each time the white sound vibrations trailed off into the blackness. I felt like I was walking into nothing; but I was walking for something. What was I walking for?_

 _I still followed the red line. What else could I do? I noticed that the line was now finally picking itself off the ground. I was finally here- I was reaching the end! I don't know why, but it filled me with joy. Something important must be at the end of this thread- it must be!_

 _So I started to jog to my destination, and it created more noise that made the vibrations continue to surround me and expand. As I got closer, the string went higher. I looked forward and I noticed something in the distant blackness. The vibrations trailed off and met a singular silhouette, overlapping its body. The figure was outlined white, and I couldn't recognize it right away. But I didn't care; it was someone, and that's all I wanted._

 _I slowed down my jog and spoke to it, "H-Hey!" It turned around, but didn't speak back. "Who are you?!" I walked closer, the red string was coming to an end. It still didn't answer. "Answer me!" As I got closer, I noticed the silhouette looked like a man. He still didn't respond. He just looked at me with a blank expression._

 _"Why won't you talk to me?" I said, now coming to the end of the line. The red trail ended at the other man's finger. He looked at me and didn't say a word; I almost wondered if he could speak at all. But then I looked at him once more, and studied his appearance. It was pitch black, but I could've sworn I've seen this man before. He was short, but he looked fierce. Annoyed yet stoic. Perfectly cut hair and cold eyes._

 _Yes. I knew who this man was._

 _But…. Why? Why was he here? Why was he at the end of the line? Why did he stand there and not speak?_

 _Why?_

* * *

 **Monday 5:35 A.M**

Eren slowly pried his eyes open, and had the ceiling of his dorm welcome his vision. He felt a lump in his throat and he swallowed it down. He stayed motionless in his bed with steady breathing. He slowly sat up and looked down at his hands. His right hand looked fine, but his left looked pale and the blood was just rushing back to it.

 _What the hell was that?_

Eren gulped again, then opened his mouth to speak.

…

Nothing. It was just a dream. It was just another crazy dream he had. Eren looked up and saw Marco sleeping soundly on his bed. It was just at the brink of dawn, and his class would start in about an hour. He was back to the real world, thankfully. But it was still concerning; what was that dream he had? It felt like it had gone on forever, but it only lasted through a few hours in the night. And then, just at the end...

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and looked to the ground. He clutched the sheets and he narrowed his eyes in concentration.

 _Just… Why was he there?_


End file.
